Online dating has become incredibly popular over the past number of years, but this weekend we have been reminded of the dangers of meeting up with the strangers we meet via online profiles.
Australian woman Kat Berry has made headlines around the world, after bravely sharing photos and details of the brutal assault and rape she endured at the hands of a man whom she met through online dating site Plenty of Fish.
The 31-year-old took to Facebook earlier this month to recount the events of last October, when she went to a pub in her native Victoria, to meet up with a man she had connected with online.
When it looked as though things were going well, Kat invited the man back to her home for more drinks and conversation.
“For about five hours we talked, laughed and watched music videos on YouTube. It was fun, but there was nothing sexual there. Until I decided I'd had way too much to drink and I needed to go to bed. That's when he got violent; he attacked and raped me,” she wrote.
Kat posted up photos of some of the external injuries she sustained during the violent attack, but added: “It doesn't show the rest of the damage he did. A few people already know this. What no one knows is of what scars I have under my boobs, around my vagina, my clitoris, or the internal damage done.”
By the time Kat went to the police about the attack, the man – who had given her a fake name – had already deleted his profile and changed his phone number. Police did, however, investigate the incident further and discovered that this man had carried out similar attacks on two other women.
While Kat did recently receive a phone call from police telling her that the man had been caught, justice has most certainly not been served in this story.
Shockingly, Kat revealed: “Being a business owner, an 'outstanding member of his community' and because he comes from money, he was found 'not guilty' to all charges. His identity has been protected as to not tarnish his business and family. I still don't get to know his name. He gets to stay in Qld, safe and free.”
Kat said that she decided to share her story not for ‘sympathy’, but to highlight the major failings of the justice system and, even more importantly, to warn other women to be careful.
What a frightening case. Let’s hope that something will be done to bring justice for Kat and the other victims.
