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Internet date ends in assault
Couple met for picnic at Pointe Claire park
Brett Bundale
The Gazette
Thursday, August 7, 2008
While the number of singles using the Internet to meet new people increases every year, police are warning women to be weary when meeting strangers in person following an incident in Pointe Claire Village last month.
After meeting through the online dating service Lavalife, a Montreal woman and an Ontario man, both in their 50s, decided to meet in person on July 26 for a picnic in a Pointe Claire park, Const. Catherine Morand said.
When it started to rain, the two decided to move the picnic into the man’s pickup truck, parked near Lakeshore Blvd. and Cartier Ave., Morand said.
The man tried to smother the woman with a pillow and then attempted to sexually assault her, Morand said.
The woman pulled a knife from her purse that she had apparently brought to cut cheese for the picnic and slashed the man on the right side of his stomach in order to escape the parked vehicle, Morand said.
The victim only reported the incident to police July 29, three days after the meeting took place.
Morand described the woman’s explanation of events as “cloudy” and “curious” in some parts, but police are still investigating the incident. The man, who has been identified by police, will be questioned by investigators, she added.
Precautions should be taken when arranging a meeting with someone you meet online, Morand said.
“People should try and meet in a busy public place, like a Tim Horton’s, and tell people close to them about the meeting and any information they have,” she said. “It’s important to just be very vigilant.”
The Lavalife online dating service offers three categories for singles to meet each other: dating, relationships and intimate encounters.
There are nearly 2 million active members on Lavalife and about 26,000 new members join every week, according to the dating service’s website.
In addition, nearly 1.3 million messages are exchanged every day. Most members of Lavalife use the website for about 15 minutes a day.