Match.com Attacker Sentenced

A man who pled no contest to assaulting a woman he met through Match.com has been sentenced to a year in jail.

Alan Wurtzel , 67, pleaded no contest last month to sexually assaulting Carole Markin. After the second date, Wurtzel followed her into her home where the attack occurred, prosecutors said.

Markin later learned Wurtzel had prior sexual battery convictions.

Wurtzel was also sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to register as a sex offender and complete a year of counseling, according to Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles County prosecutors.

Markin sued Match.com seeking a court order requiring the dating service to screen prospective members and weed out sex offenders.  She did not seek monetary damages and after Match agreed to screen members against state and federal sex-offender registries, the suit was settled.

"If I save one woman from being attacked, I'm happy," Markin said. "I went into this lawsuit to protect other people and it worked."
 

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Copyright AP - Associated Press
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