“But The Internet Said She Was 18!”

It’s the old story:
Boy searches for girl on SexSearch.com
Boy meets girl
Boy has sex with girl
Girl turns out to be 14
Boy gets arrested for sex with a minor
Boy sues SexSearch.com for allowing her to represent on her profile that she was 18.
The Sixth Circuit dismisses the case:

A risk is considered open and obvious when its “dangers are within the body of knowledge common to the community” and “generally known and recognized by the ordinary consumer.” Gawloski v. Miller Brewing Co., 644 N.E.2d 731, 733 (Ohio Ct. App. 1994). In this case, the danger that a member of SexSearch could be a minor is open and obvious. Internet users’ anonymity and potential for false personal representations are well known. Doe was familiar with the registration process and knew that SexSearch did nothing more than asking members to check a box indicating that they are at least eighteen. Furthermore, even if there was a duty to warn, the statement in the Terms and Conditions that SexSearch could not verify members’ information could be seen as a satisfaction of that duty. Therefore, Doe has failed to state a claim for failure to warn.

3 thoughts on ““But The Internet Said She Was 18!””

  1. Thank goodness. If one can be held legally liable for pre-sex lies, almost all males of the world will be in harm’s way.
    (sorry, guys, she won’t gain those 30 pounds until after the kids, so she’s not technically lying)

  2. Are the feds going to prosecute the girl for violating the site’s TOS? That’s apparently a crime, you know.

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