A U.S. district court judge refused to freeze assets of SexSearch in a case involving an Ohio man who sued the dating site, its executives, and partners claiming the defendants committed fraud and violated Ohio consumer laws by marketing children to adults for sexual purposes.
The plaintiff, referred to as "John Doe," was given permission by the court to withhold his identity because he is a married man with minor children.
Doe had sex with a 14-year-old girl whom he met through an ad on SexSearch. Doe is blaming the website for having sexual conduct with the minor, predicated on the belief that SexSearch is supposed to prescreen its members to make sure each is at least 18 years of age.
An Ohio grand jury has indicted Doe, who is waiting to stand trial later this year for sexual misconduct with a minor.
"We are pleased that the court agreed that the freeze was inappropriate and unnecessary," said Gary Jay Kaufman, a Los Angeles-based attorney who represents three of the defendants. "We believe this case is meritless. A motion to dismiss is pending, and we are hopeful for a quick resolution in the near future."
Greg Piccionelli, an attorney specializing in adult entertainment, said, "This case is absurd. It is incredible that the plaintiff would try to shift responsibility to a website to do what the law requires he do for himself."
As for the belief asserted by the plaintiff that online-dating sites are fully responsible for insuring their members are 18 years of age or older, Piccionelli analogized the matter to entering a house illegally: "When we put up a barrier—like a window—to a child, it doesn’t always work. The kids could break the window and go inside [the house] and steal [despite the homeowner’s efforts to keep them out]."
"There’s only one way around the problem [of minors’ accessing sexually explicit material], and that is to make parents responsible [for their children’s misbehavior]," Piccionelli said. "Under current U.S. law, it is unlawful to gain entry into a computer or database beyond the access you’re given."
