Community Corner

Match.com Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Screen for Sex Offenders

The dating website agrees to screen members against sex offender registries to settle a suit brought by a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by a man she met through the site.

A woman who said she was sexually assaulted after a date in West Hollywood settled a lawsuit against Match.com on Tuesday. The woman said she met Alan Paul Wurtzel, 67, by way of the dating website in early 2010.

The woman reportedly asked for no monetary damages in the settlement. However, the website agreed to screen all members against sex offender registries. Wurtzel had sexual assault convictions before meeting the woman.

"If I save one woman from getting attacked, I'm happy," the woman told reporters.

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Wurtzel  in LA County Superior Court on Aug. 17.

The woman's attorney told reporters that on their second date, her client and Wurtzel went to . The woman said Wurtzel then drove her home and followed her into her residence, "where he sexually assaulted her while holding her down."

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In exchange for Wurtzel's plea, "one count of forcible oral copulation will be dismissed," according to a press release from the court.

Wurtzel will be back in court Sept. 19 for sentencing. According to Deputy District Attorney Jane Creighton, Wurtzel faces "365 days in jail, five years' formal probation and he must register as a sex offender for life."

City News Service contributed to this report.

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