UCF Student Charged with Raping Woman He Met on Match.Com

A Seminole County, FL woman was allegedly raped by an Orlando college student she met through the online-dating website Match.com.

According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the two met on Thursday through the site. They supposedly exchanged e-mails and phone numbers. Evidently, the man asked the victim questions that were “sexual in nature.”

The victim allegedly told police that the man’s questions made her uncomfortable, but she agreed to meet him at a restaurant in Sanford Friday evening. According to arrest reports, they ended their night with a kiss and on good terms.

The two supposedly met the next day in Sanford and the woman followed the man to his apartment in Oviedo. Once inside the apartment, the woman told police that the 22-year-old man raped her. After the reported incident, he allegedly began pacing and supposedly said he didn’t know what to do with the woman.

Deputies said he forced the woman to go to a pharmacy and purchase the morning-after pill. After, the two supposedly went back to the man’s apartment and the woman was allowed to leave.

The woman reported the attack Saturday night.

A spokeswoman for Match.com released a statement saying, “While incidents like this one between individuals who meet on Match.com are extremely rare, it doesn’t make them any less horrifying, and we were very disturbed to hear about it.”

The man was arrested on a sexual battery charge and booked into the John E. Polk Correctional Facility with bail set at $10,000. He has since been released from jail.

Prosecutors will no doubt rely on the victim’s statements, any evidence collected from the scene and eye witness reports. The interesting part of the case will be the online discourse. Internet dating sites can create highly suggestive encounters and the content provided by the participants will certainly be a subject of discussion in this case.

From 2000 through 2008 Match.com has acquired more than 100 million members since its conception. In 2008, it was reported that Match.com had more than 20 million active members and the number of paying members in 2010 was 1,789,000. According to Match.com, one in five relationships start online and Match.com has led to more dates, relationships and marriages than any other dating website.

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, 80 percent of rape victims are under the age of 30. In the U.S., every two minutes someone is reportedly sexually assaulted. Approximately 2/3 of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows, with 38 percent of confirmed rapists being a friend or acquaintance.

A rape conviction can carry a maximum of 15 years in prison and a minimum of around five years behind bars. There is also a chance of having to register as a sexual offender for the rest of your life which could affect your private affairs, job and you where you live.

If you have been accused of rape in the state of Florida, contact the Florida Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers online or call 866-608-5529.