Imagin.ation,
I'm very sorry that you were hurt by this individual.
My conclusion with respect to on-line dating is that it is, literally, a waste of time. My opinion on the matter is that: if you meet someone on-line and you have a number of conversations with them which go very well, then you may decide you're going to meet them in person. Alternatively, you can simply just go out and meet people in person!
That's the thing about the Internet, it slows down the entire relationship-forming process because there is a length of time that is devoted to reaching a point where, in person, the relationship-forming process first begins! You have to put people through a certain vetting process on-line to determine whether or not you want to meet them in person when you meet people in person (or could) every day of your life!
The other problem with the Internet, thatyou experienced, is that it opens up the door to predatorial acts. The people who will commit such acts are relegated to doing so via the Internet because they cannot accomplish their vile intentions when they start off in face-to-face relationships. On some occasions, they give off too weird a, "Vibe," a vibe which you would certainly have picked up from this guy, in person. In other cases, even a live interpersonal relationship starts off well-enough, but they then find it difficult to control their impulses for a long enough period of time to gain trust.
The advantage the Internet gives such people, whether you call it, "Working," or, "Grooming," a person, is that they can do so with multiple people at the same time, sometimes literally. The advantages of this are that it is easier for such people to control their impulses, and just like pulling a
slot machine handle for a
jackpot, the more pulls you make, the greater chance you have to get lucky. Imagine if he has similar dealings with five, ten, maybe even fifteen women at a time...eventually one of them will capitulate.
My advice is to always limit your trust of people you meet on-line, and keep the relationship-building process, in terms of romance, as organic as possible. I do not mean to be melodramatic, but it may be that you simply avoided meeting a strange guy in person...or you may have narrowly avoided the missing persons report.
You can never be too careful. Take care of yourself.
Respectfully Yours,
Mission146