DALLAS, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- TRUE.com(R), the leading scientifically
based online relationship service, today announced a landmark civil
prosecution victory in TRUE's ongoing mission to further improve the safety
of all online daters. As a result of TRUE's milestone lawsuit against a
convicted felon who misrepresented himself online, the first of its kind in
the dating and relationship industry, TRUE has obtained an agreement that:
-- Prevents the convicted felon from signing up, using or communicating
through any online dating or relationship service;
-- Requires him to immediately cancel all current memberships to online
dating and relationship sites;
-- Commits the felon to complete a community service obligation; and
-- Designates he pay monetary damages to TRUE (which TRUE will donate to
the Safer Online Dating Alliance or another organization dedicated to
the mission of improving consumer safety).
In November 2005, TRUE took the unprecedented step of filing a lawsuit
against a convicted felon and registered sex offender from California who
applied for membership with the company, misrepresented his felony status,
and improperly accessed TRUE's database, all in violation of its policies.
The lack of access to all criminal records made it possible for this felon
to circumvent the criminal background screening. Some United States
jurisdictions restrict access by companies to criminal conviction data,
such as the California statewide sex offender registry in this case.
TRUE's primary objective in the lawsuit was to obtain a permanent
injunction preventing the convicted felon from accessing the TRUE Web site
and its members, no matter how long it took. The lawsuit explained that
this convicted felon violated federal and state laws when he falsely
represented himself to TRUE and its members as a non-felon. Now, almost one
year after filing the lawsuit, TRUE has achieved its ambitious goal for the
benefit of all online dating and relationship companies as well as the
users of these services.
"From Day 1 when I founded this company, I made a solemn pledge to
create a safer dating environment for our members and our industry," said
Herb Vest, founder and CEO of TRUE. "As part of this longstanding
commitment, we continue to lead the industry by being the only site to
conduct criminal background and marital screenings to help rid the site --
and eventually the entire industry -- of potentially dangerous individuals.
I can't guarantee that felons and marrieds cannot get on TRUE, but I can
guarantee they will be very, very sorry they did."
According to the Department of Justice's Criminal Offender Statistics,
approximately 67.5 percent of convicted criminals released from prison are
rearrested for a felony or serious crime. Added Vest, "I take the safety of
our members personally. Upon learning of his identity from a TRUE member,
we immediately removed this convicted felon and registered sex offender
from our Web site, alerted our members who had been in contact with him,
reported the individual to appropriate authorities and started our civil
prosecution. With this wide-reaching settlement we have improved the safety
of TRUE.com's members and the members of all other companies in our
industry as well - even companies that previously ignored warnings that
this specific convicted felon and registered sex offender was on their Web
site and interacting with their members. This is a victory for the more
than 27.4 million* people who use online dating sites."
TRUE member Brooke Benson**, who alerted the company to this felon,
added: "When I saw this individual on TRUE, I contacted the company
immediately. TRUE took my claim seriously, promptly investigated it and
quickly removed him from the Web site. I found him on other sites,
contacted them too and they took no action. Thanks to TRUE's work, he can
no longer meet people on any dating or relationship site, and the entire
dating and relationship community is safer."
When registering for membership on TRUE, all users must represent that
they have not been convicted of a felony or a sexual offense and that they
are not married. Warnings posted on the Web site clearly state that TRUE
vigorously pursues individuals who misrepresent themselves and reports
violators to appropriate federal, state and local authorities, including
parole boards.
Vest stated: "There's a new sheriff in town, and we mean what we say in
our warnings. I continue to challenge the rest of the online dating and
relationship industry to follow our lead and show a real concern for their
members' safety. It is imperative that we act now to better protect our
members and all consumers from felons, marrieds, scammers and underage
users. This is why we actively support legislative initiatives calling for
safer online dating awareness, including making available all criminal
records for purposes of background screenings. Until that day, we will
continue to advance our efforts to clean up the entire industry - one
criminal at a time - for the benefit of all online daters."
Since its launch in 2003, TRUE has vigorously pursued its mission to
improve online dating safety not only for its members, but for all
consumers in the entire industry. TRUE currently remains the only major
online dating site to require both criminal background and marriage
screenings for communicating members to help further increase the safety of
all users; TRUE also actively encourages other dating sites in the industry
to follow suit. The company is one of more than 150 members of the Safer
Online Dating Alliance (SODA), which includes survivor groups, sexual
assault groups, law enforcement as well as companies in the industry. TRUE
continues to lead the industry in pursuing issues to further increase
online dating safety. The company works with legislators, victim advocacy
groups, law enforcement officials and other parties concerned about safety
issues to raise awareness of the need for greater consumer protection and
public safety in the world of online dating.
About TRUE
TRUE is the leading scientifically based, online relationship service,
whose mission is to help singles find long-lasting and fulfilling
relationships. Founded on an advanced, scientifically based compatibility
test uniquely endorsed by Psychology Today and independently certified to
meet the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing, TRUE is the
only online relationship service that actively seeks to further protect the
safety of its communicating members by conducting criminal background
screenings and single- verification screenings. With the help of
proprietary research and in conjunction with national and international
advisors in the field of relationship and psychology, TRUE's team of
experts guides members step-by- step through all stages of the
relationship-building process. To find out more about how TRUE helps people
around the world Live.Love.Learn.(R) please visit http://www.true.com .
* Last year JupiterResearch estimated that 17.2 million people viewed
online personals and 2.5 million of them paid for online ads. In
2006, JupiterResearch predicts 27.4 million will view online personals
and 5.2 million will pay for ads.
** For increased protection, the TRUE.com member quoted in this press
release requested her real name not be disclosed. The name Brooke
Benson is a pseudonym.
Press Contacts:
Benjamin Larkin
Vollmer Public Relations
972/488-4790
benjamin@vollmerpr.com
SOURCE TRUE.com
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Related links:
http://www.true.com
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/919610.html /
CONTACT:
Benjamin Larkin of Vollmer Public Relations,
+1-972-488-4790, or benjamin@vollmerpr.com , for TRUE.com
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