Dating App Sexual Assault Lawsuit: Claims Against Match Group and Hinge Explained

K.C. Harpring

personal injury Attorney

Key Takeaways

• Attorneys Dormer Harpring and Greg Bentley are pursuing legal claims against Match Group and its dating platforms, including Hinge and Match.com, over alleged failures to protect users.

• The lawsuit alleges the platforms allowed Stephen Matthews to continue using their services and recommended him as a “Most Compatible” match even after an assault was reported.

• The case raises broader questions about whether dating platforms adequately enforce safety policies and respond to reports of dangerous users.

• Reports also suggest that Jeffrey Epstein, after becoming a registered sex offender, was still able to create and use accounts on dating platforms.

• The lawsuit highlights growing scrutiny of dating apps and their responsibility to protect users from known predators.

Dormer Harpring and Greg Bentley are part of the team of attorneys pursuing legal claims on behalf of victims of sexual assault against dating platforms Hinge, Match, and their parent company, IAC. According to publicly available information, Match Group had a market cap of $8.21 billion and a 66% share globally of online and mobile dating apps, as of January 2025.

The lawsuit involves allegations that the dating companies continued to allow Stephen Matthews to use their platforms to assault women and continued to recommend Matthews as a “Most Compatible” match to unsuspecting women—even after one of Matthews’ first victims reported the assault directly to Hinge. See the Denver Post article for more information.

This case highlights concerns over the responsibility of dating platforms to protect users from known predators. According to the team of attorneys, the dating platforms disregarded clear warnings which raises questions about user safety policies and enforcement practices at the dating companies.

Connections to High-Profile Cases

Remarkably, recent documents produced in the Jeffrey Epstein case suggest that similar safety failures occurred almost a decade earlier and at much higher levels.

The Associated Press reported in 2011 that Match.com represented it was going to screen potential users against the national sex offender registry. However, it appears at least one high profile sex offender was still allowed to continue using the platform.

Reports indicate that in 2012—after Epstein was a registered sex offender—dating platforms continued to allow Epstein to create an account to actively use and match with women. It appears the platforms even recommended women to Epstein as potential matches.

For more details about these reports, see the recent Dallas News coverage here.

These developments highlight the growing strain on dating platforms to protect its users.

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If you were harmed by Stephen Matthews or would like more information about the lawsuit against Matchgroup, please contact us or visit matchgrouplawsuit.com.

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