By Tom Jackman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 9, 2006

At least for the rest of this year, Charles "Ed" Hicks probably won't be getting married again.

The Fairfax County man, married seven times but divorced only five times, was sentenced yesterday to a year in prison for felony bigamy. A judge in Chesapeake, Va., gave Hicks credit for five months served, so he faces seven more months behind bars.

"At least for seven months, he won't be preying on innocent women," said Sandra Goldin Hicks, his seventh wife, who lives in the Alexandria area.

Hicks, 62, began marrying when he was 21, and he sometimes didn't manage to divorce one wife before wedding another. He has three grown children from two marriages. He hasn't spoken to one of the children in 20 years.

Monday May 8, 7:00 am ET
This Mother's Day, True.com Experts Offer Tips for Success in Life, Work, Play ... and Love

DALLAS, May 8 /PRNewswire/ -- As today's single parents refine schedule- juggling to an art form, TRUE, the leading scientifically based online relationship service, is recognizing the more than 10 million single moms in the United States* by sharing expert advice on how they can embrace life, work, play and love into their lives.

"Single mothers have many responsibilities -- juggling parenting, work, family and friends -- and at times they tend to postpone or even lose sight of their own personal needs," said Herb Vest, founder and CEO of TRUE. "At TRUE, we understand and recognize the challenges single mothers face to make time for romance. We want to empower these extraordinary women by providing them with tools to build meaningful and successful relationships."

The Seattle Times
May 7, 2006

Q: I have been hearing about the increasing number of "cyberstalkers" who prowl the Web. As an avid user of networking sites such as MySpace and several Internet dating sites, how can I protect myself from being stalked or harassed?

� L.S., Los Angeles, Calif.
A: "Cyberstalking" is characterized by a stalker relentlessly pursuing his or her victim online. The perpetrator is likely to try to meet with and harass the victim in person as well.

Cyberstalking is on the rise. Today, most states � including Washington � have laws addressing the problem. Washington's law, passed in 2004, defines cyberstalking and classifies it as either a gross misdemeanor or felony, depending on the circumstances. President Bush also recently signed new federal legislation against cyberstalking.

Beth is just one of 40 million Americans who have browsed the Internet in search of love. This growing phenomenon has spawned countless Web sites and even a reality show, TLC's "Log in for Love."

With so many people "logging in for love" every day, it's not surprising that things go awry from time to time.

ROSEVILLE, Michigan (AP) -- Police say a 46-year-old woman was married to three men at once, and they may be just part of a trail of at least 15 husbands and several swindles.

According to a recent survey by Keynote, an independent research company, 61% of women fear that online daters were misrepresenting themselves. A new resource for women, MateCheck.com eliminates this uncertainty and increases safety and trust in the online dating community.

We disagree with your startling editorial "State Need Not Be Online Chaperon" (Our Opinion, April 12) and believe that Florida's safer online dating legislation is a positive step toward a safer environment for online dating consumers.

Claire E. Miller, a 44-year-old publishing executive in Manhattan, recently stripped her nameplate from the tenant directory at the entrance to her Kips Bay apartment building, where she has lived for more than 11 years. She has also asked the landlord to disconnect the buzzer and is in the process of changing her phone number.

Just this past week, as I was about to cancel my Match.com membership for the third time, I received a "wink" from someone who looked like the kind of man I'd like to meet. He was 25, according to his online profile, and moderately attractive, with wavy brown hair and dark eyes. I checked to see if he met my criteria for dating. Is he taller than I? Yes. Does he have a job? Yes. Is his income comparable to mine? Yes. Is he a smoker? No. He's a Mets fan - bonus! He's a middle school teacher - score!

April 10, 2006

New Survey From TRUE(R) Finds That Singles Still Believe in Old-Fashioned Romance, but Know That Men Don't Have to be the Breadwinners

DALLAS, /PRNewswire/ -- Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but American singles still choose love over money, a new survey says. A nationwide survey conducted by TRUE, the leading scientifically based online relationship service, reports that when it comes to relationships, nearly 4,000 single Americans agree that money can't buy love.

According to the survey, today's single Americans place a higher value on love than money. The number one priority in life, respondents said, was finding and sustaining a relationship (52 percent). Gaining financial stability came in second (37 percent) and achieving career success came in a distant third (11 percent).

MATCHMAKING SITE REFUSES HIM UNTIL DIVORCE
By Mary Anne Ostrom
Mercury News
March 27, 2006

John Claassen wants a date so badly he's suing for one.
He's taking eHarmony.com to court, because the popular online matchmaker refused to find him the perfect mate.
Why? Because he is married.

Technically, Claassen says, he is legally separated. But that's not good enough for eHarmony, which says it is in the business of matching singles "free of relationship commitments." That puts him in cyber-dating limbo.

"Most people don't file a suit to get a date," Claassen said Friday after filing a civil rights suit last week in Alameda County Superior Court. "If I had my druthers, I'd be divorced by now. I'm emotionally in a different state than I am legally," the 36-year-old Emeryville lawyer said.

March 21, 2006

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (Reuters) -- Josie Phyllis Brown never had a chance against her 6-foot-6-inch killer, although his stature was one of the few things she should have known from his Internet profile.

John Christopher Gaumer, who confessed to the murder and led Baltimore County police to Brown's body on February 7, listed his height and other attributes in his quest for dates on MySpace.com, a free Internet social site owned by News Corp. where mostly young people connect for friendship and romance.

Some personal profiles on the Web site are frighteningly revealing. People publish their birth dates, schools they attend, even clubs they will frequent on a given Saturday night, complete with a cell phone number for whomever might care to join them.

KTBC-TV Austin
March 11, 2006

February 23, 2006

BY TRACY SWARTZ Sun-Times Springfield Bureau

SPRINGFIELD--Legislation designed to make cyberdating safer won approval Wednesday from the Illinois House.

The House also passed a measure that would double the amount of parental supervision required for teens to get their driver's license. Legislation that would mandate HIV testing for almost every newborn in Illinois also garnered final House approval.

Under the online dating bill, networking sites with Illinois members would have to initiate background checks to identify convicted felons and sex offenders or tell their users they don't conduct checks.

John Barry
St. Petersburg Times
Feb. 13, 2006 04:21 PM

Read 'em and weep. Or hug your spouse or your dog. Or throw your computer off the cliff at Lover's Leap and run to the nearest nunnery or seminary.

We asked online daters to share their worst war stories for Valentine's Day. For some strange, inexplicable reason, almost all the responses were from women. We've condensed the longer, more agonizing accounts.

We're giving the "winner," poor Peggy Hedgecock, a dozen roses. We're sorry. We just didn't know how bad it is out there. We should have offered entry into a witness protection program.

February 12, 2006
New York Post

Convicted sex offenders are lurking on popular online dating sites, waiting to turn you from hopeless romantic to hapless victim.

The Post found two sex offenders, and learned of another ex-con, lurking on Match.com -- the world's largest and most popular Internet dating service -- last week.

One is a New Jersey man convicted of sexually assaulting two teens.
Evin Nieradka, a 31-year-old West Point graduate convicted in 2001 of simultaneously assaulting two girls ages 12 and 16, was on Match.com as recently as Wednesday searching for "sexy fun ladies in Monmouth County" under the name "evin363."

February 6, 2006
Modesto Bee

It seems there is nothing out of reach on the Internet, from the benign everyday items to the quirky and ridiculous.

People search for boyfriends, apartments and used furniture, and have attempted to sell body parts and auction their names.

So it may come as no surprise that the world's oldest profession has reinvented itself for the digital age.

Police say some dating Web sites and online classified services increasingly feature blatant ads for prostitution.

After a recent sting netted eight arrests, the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department is investigating Web sites it says create a forum for prostitution.

January 31, 2006
PRNewswire

New Survey from TRUE(R) Details the Different Ways Men and Women Approach the Holiday

DALLAS-- How singles view and make decisions around Valentine's Day is largely impacted by one overriding factor -- their sex. And, you might be surprised to hear who's hoping for a gift on February 14! Results from a recent nationwide survey, as well as previous studies conducted by TRUE, the leading scientifically-based online relationship service, provide great insight into the different ways men and women approach Cupid's holiday.

While many would believe women feel more pressure to have a date or be in a relationship as Valentine's Day approaches, according to the survey, men put a greater importance on this day: More than 25 percent made it their 2006 New Year's resolution to have a date or a special someone to share the romantic holiday with this year.

Fox News
January 18, 2006

More charges have been filed against a Texas State student accused of sexual assault.

Investigators also say 33-year-old Matthew Ferguson used Match.com to find potential victims. The registered sex offender is accused of videotaping sex with 18 women at his San Marcos apartment.

Before moving to San Marcos, Ferguson was a student at Baylor University. Investigators say he has victims both in Waco and san Marcos.

He was removed from Match.com after he was arrested in December.

"It's just not the normal person out there that are utilizing these services. There are predators that use these services just as well and they do it to a degree where they master the program. It's a hunting ground for them," says San Marcos Police Sgt. Penny Dunn.

City of San Marcos Police
December 7, 2005

San Marcos Police arrested a 33-year-old convicted sex offender Tuesday and charged him with the sexual assault of a 23-year-old woman.

Matthew Todd Ferguson

Matthew Todd Ferguson, 33, (DOB 5/06/1972) was arrested around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at his residence in the 1200 block of North LBJ as investigators executed search and arrest warrants. Ferguson is a student at Texas State University.

November 10, 2005
Posted by Dave Evans

It was only a matter of time. True.com made it's name as a website dedicated to safer dating. Now, it's fighting to keep a convicted sex offender off it's site.

True reportedly took quick action, reporting the offender to the authorities and filing a suite against him. The get around to mentioning that the offenders profile was removed from the site 3/4 through the press release, and this was reported via Brooke Benson, who reportedly has seen the lecherous creature on several other websites.

True being True, takes a swipe at eHarmony by fabricating a quote from Ms. Benson stating she felt that eHarmony was not "aggressive enough" when it came to dealing with a sex offender on eHarmony.com.

Associated Press
August 7, 2005

Ronald Fischer presented himself as a bona fide bon vivant, a cultured doctor with a taste for life's luxuries. He prowled for women in dating publications and on the Internet, advertising as a physician with an interest in shopping, sports, travel and theater.

Authorities and some who knew him paint a different picture _ that of a phony, a self-obsessed man who thought he was above the law. In at least two cases, he brought unsuspecting women to his boat, where he attacked them.

July 14, 2005
Detroit Free Press

A Harrison Township man charged with threatening to have one woman assaulted if she broke up with him and swindling two others out of their savings faces at least four years in prison after admitting his guilt in Macomb County Circuit Court.

Robert Pugh, 62, pleaded guilty Wednesday in front of Judge Peter Maceroni to two counts of obtaining money under false pretenses, two counts of using a computer in the commission of a crime and one count of attempted extortion.

Pugh was charged late last year with extortion for threatening to have casino bouncers brutalize his then-girlfriend, a now 53-year-old South Lyon woman, if she broke up with him.

June 10, 2005

PRNewswire

BOSTON, June 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Visitors to online dating services often meet people from all walks of life and parts of the country. Online dating offers more options for singles looking for their ideal mates. It also carries increased risks of danger and violence, even for the cautious and savvy.
"Dating violence has always been a problem, especially for women," said Robert Siciliano, a nationally televised and quoted authority on personal safety and privacy. "Statistics indicate that it is prevalent. Dating online adds more risk to the mix."

KVBC, Las Vegas
May 18, 2005

It's Saturday night, and you don't have a date. Your friend, on the other hand, has got 'em lined up one after another. You see, she's entered the world of online dating, one of the most convenient ways to meet people nowadays. But does she know what she's getting into? In Nina Radetich's Crime Tracker 3 report, the hidden dangers of online dating: One woman's harrowing story, and what you can learn from her experience.

"Any city you go to, whether it be Las Vegas or Podunk, people are going to say it's so hard to meet people in my city, but I just think it's hard in general." Hard to believe the woman voted Las Vegas' Sexiest Person in 2004 has ever had a tough time finding a date. Sonja Flaherty writes about her dating excursions in her relationship column in the Las Vegas Weekly. "It's about being single. There are good times, there's bad times, there's ups, there's downs."

Big Sandy News
May 6, 2005

MARTIN -- A group of women in several states claim a Floyd County man is an Internet gigolo and his Arkansas wife has started a Web site to warn other women to stay away from him.

Kathryn Martin of Benton, Ark., says that when she married Sam Martin III in Hot Springs in May 2004, she had no idea he had at least five other women on the side. Since the current Mrs. Martin set up her Web site, www.ceocowboyexposed.com, 40 women from across the nation have contacted her about their experiences with Martin.

Martin's daughter, April, has even posted a story about her father on the Web site and apologizes to the women he has encountered.

Philly News
May 5, 2005

WHILE Tom Hastings lavished his teenage daughter with new cars and a credit card with no spending limit, he also told her how to cheat her way out of paying to fix a car she wrecked in a crash, she said.

To Hastings, 61, who grew up poor and without a father, life revolved around money - however he could get it, relatives said.

At 21, he scammed 12-year-old paper boys out of small amounts of cash from their routes, an ex-wife said.

He swindled college fraternities out of hundreds of dollars from rock concerts, relatives said.

And then he found the real cash cow: sports events and travel packages.

Dallas Morning News
April 28, 2005

Sexual predators are constantly prowling the Internet in search of victims, and online dating services are natural hunting grounds.

Kristin Kelly of Match.com may not think this sort of crime exists; she should tell that to the brave woman tortured and raped by a man she met through an online dating service.

Her story is precisely what this legislation is designed to prevent. Do we want our legislators to sit around waiting for more of these crimes, or do we want action?

Karen Knight, Grand Prairie

www.dallasnews.com

Boston Herald
April 27, 2005

It has been 17 years since that terrible day when Edmund LaChance offered his first rape victim a ride home, then raped her while holding a gun to her head.

But when the victim, now 37, saw his picture in the Herald yesterday as part of a story on dating Web sites dedicated to convicts in Massachusetts prisons, memories of the crime that destroyed her life came flooding back.

"When I saw his face, I nearly threw up. I can't believe he is allowed to look for love on the Internet. He ruined my entire life," said the woman, now a single mom raising a son in Revere.

March 30, 2005
Philadelphia Daily

SHORTLY after her divorce, Shelley Fleming signed onto an Internet dating site and began exchanging emails with a 6-foot, 3-inch tall New Jersey investment banker.

They started dating, but it was apparent pretty quickly that something wasn't right. Not only did the man repeatedly break dates with her, but he wouldn't call when he said he would. Eventually, Fleming discovered that not only had the man lied about being married - he'd lied about his own name.

So, she was more than a little pleased to learn yesterday about efforts underway in five state legislatures to make Internet dating safer. The Michigan bill, which is similar to bills being considered in California, Texas, Ohio and Florida, would require that dating service clients undergo criminal background checks every 90 days. Fleming wishes dating sites would be required go a little farther and verify marital status.