A rapist who sexually attacked seven women he met on Match.com has been jailed for life by a UK court.
According to the BBC, Jason Lawrance, 50, of Liphook, Hampshire, used two profiles to meet his victims.
Jurors heard that both profiles – keepitstraighttoday and straightmanlooking – didn’t have pictures. Lawrance used the profiles to contact several thousand women.
He was eager to talk to his victims offline, the court heard.
Following a two-week trial, Lawrance, a self-employed builder, was found guilty on Wednesday of five counts of rape, one count of attempted rape and one count of sexual assault.
Derby Crown Court Judge Gregory Dickinson QC said that Lawrance will have to serve at least 12.5 years before being eligible for parole.
The Guardian quoted Judge Dickinson’s explanation of why he gave Lawrance a life term:
There is a significant risk to members of the public of serious harm occasioned by the commission by you of further offences.
“That phrase is taken from an act of parliament. In plain English – you are a danger to women. Given the chance, you will rape again. I do not know when it may be safe to release you into the community.
A sentence of life imprisonment means that you will not be released unless and until the parole board considers that it is safe to do so.
Lawrance attacked the women between June 2011 and November 2014 in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.
He committed three of the attacks months after marrying his wife, whom he met via the site. He has three children.
Both his wife and children were devastated, the court heard, though Lawrance’s wife is reportedly standing by him.
Judge Dickinson told Lawrance that he’s “convinced” that he’s “devious, manipulative and highly dangerous to women.”
The Guardian reports that Judge Dickinson stressed that the minimum term of 12.5 years was only the earliest time that Lawrance might be considered for release.
The judge said that Match.com and police could all learn lessons from this case: as it is, four victims had reported Lawrance to the site, but Match didn’t remove his profile.
Lawrance had previously been released on bail after officers said they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him.
A Match.com spokesman told the BBC that the company had the “most heartfelt concern” for the victims and that it has a “zero tolerance policy” for reports of serious offenses.
Match said that it hadn’t initially removed Lawrance’s profile because his abusive messages had been sent outside its site.
The statement said that members are encouraged to keep communications within the site, where Match has the technology to “spot unacceptable behavior”.
That’s sound advice, but we’ve got even more tips for staying safe when you use online dating sites.
As Action Fraud and the City of London Police have warned in their Urban Fraud Myths campaign, most online dating sites don’t vet the people who sign up.
It pays to be wary, particularly when people you meet on these sites claim to be “in love” after just a few days of chatting.
If someone seems too keen, too soon, they may have an ulterior motive.
Another warning sign is if a suitor wants to jump to chatting off the service, as Lawrance did.
Like Match recommends, it’s safest to keep communications on the site, where the service can keep an eye out for your safety.
Simon
And life should mean life……..of a domestic cat?
Beth H
According to the article, Match.com “has a “zero tolerance policy” for reports of serious offenses.”
Which may indeed be accurate: It seems they have more *tolerance for* offenses and not got the *reporting of* them. (Even when lives are at stake)
Reader
“Given the chance, you will rape again. I do not know when it may be safe to release you into the community.” – Judge Dickinson
I can answer Judge Dickinson’s question: Never will it be safe to release Jason Lawrance, 50, of Liphook, Hampshire, from prison. Lawrence will always be a danger to society.
Rape is a lifelong compulsion for those who commit the crime. All rapists are psychopaths. Psychopathy is a personality disorder rather than a form of mental illness and it cannot be treated. Jason Lawrance should be kept in prison for the rest of his life.
By the way, how is 12.5 years a life sentence? Why on earth would anyone even offer the possibility of parole for this or any other known psychopath?
Forget about dating agencies or dating sites. Ask friends to introduce you to friends, if you must. Otherwise, I have found there are only two people in this world who will love you; their names are Mom and Dad. If you have loving children and/or a loving extended family, count them, too.
To the victims of this psychopath, I hope you take very good care of yourselves and receive ongoing strength and support from healthy and loving sources to fight the PTSD that this psychopath has inflicted upon you.
Paul Ducklin
On a point of order, he hasn’t been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison. He’s been sentenced to life in prison, and there he will stay unless he is released on licence by the parole board. (That will not lift his sentence. It will simply allow him to serve it outside a conventional prison, but he will not strictly be free.) But for 12.5 years he can’t even apply to the parole board at all.
That may feel like “a sentence of 12.5 years,” but it isn’t. A sentence of 12.5 years would mean he would be entitled to release after that time, but it is not, for all that it sounds similar. Just to be fair to the judge in this case.
Mahhn
Since my prior comment was not rejected I will tone it down:
The sentence is inadequate. If the law really want’s to prevent this type of behavior they should provide a much harsher punishment to act as a deterrent.
It would also help prevent additional victims everyone got LE involved right away.