October 30, 2006 - Authorities say this case is a message to women looking for a date on the Internet. Often times you are rolling the dice with danger. And the predator is out there looking to be trusted by someone like you& their next potential victim.
Authorities believe 33-year-old Jeffrey Marsalis of Center City may have victimized other women who have not yet come forward. Police say he was playing his victims like a fiddle on the Internet dating service, Match.com. They say he's cunning, telling one victim that he was working with the Feds and the CIA. Told another that he was a doctor in the ER at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and yet another that he was leaving to attend training to be an astronaut.
One expert says this is right out of sex predator tactics "101".
After befriending the women and leading them to believe they were on their way to a long-term relationship, authorities say he'd take them to a Philadelphia bar or restaurant, spike their drink with a date rape drug like rohypnol or other agents. One victim tells authorities after just a couple beers, she couldn't walk up the steps and had to be guided by him.
Dr. Rob D'Ovidio, who teaches a course on sex, violence, and crime on the Internet at Drexel and has seen this time and time again, offers these tips to women:
"Make sure if you go to the bathroom that you take your drink with you or don't take a drink from that glass you put down at the bar after returning."
Charged with sexually assaulting at least nine Philadelphia women in such fashion, authorities say Marsalis kept multiple addresses here as well as in Kent Washington.
For the record, Match.com does provide a number of warnings for users dating people through their web service, including warnings about leaving your drink unattended while on a date.
Dr. D'Ovidio also suggests doing this to a potential date making grandiose claims about themselves:
"Run a Google search on them, run a Yahoo search on them to see if they are a doctor at HUP. Can you find any information on the hospital's webpage to verify what they're claiming?"
Marsalis faces 9 counts of rape and sexually assaulting women. He is currently being held without bail at police headquarters. All 9 victims are expected to testify at his preliminary hearing tomorrow at the criminal justice center.
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