A dating site for Donald Trump fans featured a convicted paedophile on its homepage
(trump.dating)
A new dating website for Donald Trump fans has had to remove its main image because it featured a convicted paedophile.
Trump.dating hit the headlines over the weekend because it blocked anyone who wasn’t straight for signing up, but did let in users who are “Happily Married” – or even “Unhappily Married”.
The site has the slogan “Make Dating Great Again!” and tells users to “Find The America First Partner Of Your Dreams”.
(trump.dating)
“We’re wrecking the dating game and giving like-minded Americans a chance to meet without the awkwardness that comes with the first conversation about politics,” it continues.
“Wouldn’t it be refreshing to already know that your date roots for the same team?”
But the site has been mired in controversy after it was revealed that one of the two models who visitors see first when they visit the homepage is a convicted paedophile.
(Getty)
Barrett Riddleberger, smiling and wearing a red baseball cap with “TRUMP” emblazoned on it, has a felony conviction for taking indecent liberties with a child in 1995, according to North Carolina news site WRAL.
The charge came from him videotaping himself having sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 25, the Greensboro News & Record has reported.
Riddleberger, who has now been removed from the site along with his wife of 22 years, Jodi, told WRAL over text that “I’ve already paid my debt for something I did 25 years ago”.
He also said that the options allowing users to define themselves as happily or unhappily married were mistakes, which would be fixed by a programmer.
(trump.dating)
The options have indeed now been removed, though straight people are still the only visitors who can sign up.
Under the heading “When Political Foundation Is The Same, The Sky Is The Limit”, Trump.dating tells visitors: “We believe that by matching patriotic and political viewpoints as a base foundation of the relationship, it will allow one to focus on what really matters – conversation, commonalities, and if all goes well, courting.”
The site contains hundreds of profiles with usernames like CatherineMAGA, TrumpMAGA1776, trumpsgf, magasweetheart and DaddyTrumpsGirl.
(trump.dating)
The last of these describes herself as “a young girl trying to find a good Christian man who loves Trump, guns, and God.”
Users say they’re all over the world, everywhere from the UK to Cambodia and Brazil to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
(Getty)
The tiny British overseas territory has a population of around 35,000 – and apparently 16 of them are on Trump.dating.
It is possible to self-identify your location on the site, even though it’s not possible to select your sexuality if you’re anything but heterosexual.
