I've has a question from a legislator who is interested in allowing on-line dating services to run criminal histories to protect people from ending up on dates with covicted felons and worse.

He wanted to know if there are any horror stories out there about on-line dates gone bad.

Anyone have any stories?

Thanks, rob 512-474-2436

It is interesting that a leg would be interested in expanding the availability of criminal histories at the same time much legislation is being passed hide criminal histories.

Over the last decade, there have been many expunction, sealing and who knows what bills that suppress the existence or availability of criminal history information. And then there are the bills that demand open records.

Would they please make up their mind?

As you know a favorite saying over there..."consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...."

We had a case a few years ago, in which a Texas A&M student engaged in an online relationship with a man (our to-be-defendant) in San Antonio. It was never really clear whether the student knew that the other person was a man or a woman (the defendant claimed that the student knew it). They arranged to meet one weekend, and the defendant shot the student in the back of the head, stuck his body in the trunk of his car, drove that car to Fiesta Texas for the day with a young male friend, got stopped by the police in San Antonio and got a ticket without the body being discovered, then drove it to Hays County and dumped the corpse in the woods, where we found it. He committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial.

Not really an online dating service story, since they just met in a chat room, but it is illustrative of the fact that you may not know who you're getting involved with online.

Wes, there are several people on this forum that I've never met face-to-face -- are you saying that I need to be concerned?

I know Wes, I work with Wes - you need to be concerned!

I would also suggest that the ones I have met face to face give rise to concern from the rest.

Clay,

Exactly of which persons do you suggest, we be wary? I've met some of the folks in here too and I cannot say, I think they're worthy of shunning, but then, my perception is not always on-target.

I forgot to post, that we did have a guy recently indicted for agg. sex. assault. He met a young girl in some chat room in Amarillo & drove up there to meet her. Broguth her to Lubbock & had a nice time, then found out, she was too dang young. I can't remember his name, but our crimes-against-children specialist, Jennifer Bassett, might remember.

How absurd. Just how much does anyone know about dating companions in the early dating stages? Should I be able to run a CCH on my blind date for next weekend?

Am I to believe that if two people meet in a nightclub, like each other, and the girl gives her phone number to the guy and they agree to meet up the next week, that somehow she is better protected than an online dater would be? Other than seeing someone face-to-face and hearing a voice, I don't see the difference.

Sure, there's horror stories about online dates that have gone bad... but I'm sure they pale in comparison to the number of "regular" dates that have gone bad. We have plenty of agg. sexual assaults that strangely don't involve the internet. Our protective order applicants stream in here day after day and to my knowledge none of them met their abusers in online chat rooms. But, hey, we've all heard a scary story or two about an online incident, so what do I know?