Online Dating Can Be Dangerous

An estimated 40 million Americans use online dating services hoping to meet "the one." There are more than 1,400 Web sites in the $700 million a year business, but some question their safety.
Prosecutors say a Philadelphia nursing student was conning women on match.com. He was convicted this week of assault, but the accusations don't end there. His victims, described as attractive, ambitious professionals say their lives will never be the same.
Prosecutors said Jeffrey Marsalis, 34, told some tall tales, pretending to be a doctor, an astronaut and even a spy to lure women on Internet dating sites.
"He faces up to 20 years in prison and he will have to register as a sexual offender for the rest of his life," said prosecutor Joe Khan.
Marsalis was convicted of sexual assault. However, he was acquitted of more serious charges that he drugged and then raped seven women in his apartment.
"You read about it, you see it on TV but you just don't think it can happen to you," one anonymous victim said.
She said she knows about tricksters like Jeffrey Marsalis and how easy it is to be duped online. According to her, a man she met on a Christian dating Web site was seeing 60 other women from 25 different Web sites. He pretended to be everything from a country music manager to a Pentagon consultant. He even lied about having cancer, she said.
She claims he stole thousands of dollars from his victims.

Full Article: abc news