When Tina Evans joined an online dating site in a bid to find love, she was delighted when handsome Karl Crimmins, 29, started messaging her.
The pair exchanged messages daily, before meeting for a date, and soon became inseparable.
But, four months into their relationship, Karl launched a violent and unprovoked attack on her, punching her in the face. Disturbingly, it was only when he went to court for the attack that Tina found out about his history of domestic violence.
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While sentencing Crimmins, the judge said women who replied to his online profile “did not know what they were getting into,” and banned him from using all dating websites. He was also given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years with supervision.
Mum-of-three Tina, 30, says: “When I heard about Karl’s past, I felt physically sick. I thought I knew him. I’m glad he’s been banned from targeting other women. I don’t think online dating is safe and tougher regulations need to be in place. Going online made it easier for Karl to target women who were unaware of his past.”
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Sadly, Tina’s experience isn’t a one-off. Earlier this year, Darren Jeffreys, 47 – who had a previous conviction for assaulting an ex partner – was jailed for life for the brutal murder of mum-of-two Karen Catherall, 45, who he’d met on dating site Plenty of Fish just weeks before, in September 2014.
Sharon Winters, 39, was also murdered by her online lover, 33-year-old Kevin Hawke, in July last year. He received a minimum of 17-and-a-half years imprisonment, and her brother Stephen Robinson urged women to be “cautious” online.
Young mum Michelle Greenfield, 26, has also called for stricter internet regulations, after a man she met online – convicted violent criminal Paul Cuthbert – savagely beat her up and knifed her on a date.
**Read more in Closer Magazine, out now. **