Wow, so this 31yr woman is complaining about a 24yr guy "kidnapping" her? How was she 'persuaded' anyways? Maybe she should stick to men closer to her age, and pick better dates.

My daughter just doesn't understand how dangerous things can be out there with these young guys. Thanks, Mr. Veronin for keeping us all in check.

Dear Really?,

If the ages were reversed and the man were 31 and the woman 24 would you still be telling these adults to stick to dating people their own age? I think it's high time that society accepts that it is just as normal for older women to date younger men as for older men to date younger women (a scenario that rarely raises eyebrows).

Frightening!

Age is not that relevant. What matters here, in my view, is that no one has the right to deny another person the freedom to leave a social situation. I can only imagine the fear this woman experienced.

I would hope that people size up the character of a person before consenting to get into their vehicle. That said, this woman is a victim here.

The moral of this story is that you DO NOT date men in VANS!!!

So all you 30-something single ladies, I drive a coupe. Feel free to reply to this message with your contact information and we can setup a dinner at a restaurant on Castro.

she probably found this guy on craigslist.....lol....I hope my daughter has enough sense to never ever go into a van with a guy named Charles Robinson... [Portion removed due to violation of terms of use]

Robinson sounds like an English name to me...and we all know "they are still a problem".

I think they met in a van down by the river. They should ban rivers!

Do you think she would give any advice to anyone every? NEVERY GET IN THE CAR WHITH STRANGERS. Must have met on-line.What are the odds?

This story seems very incomplete. The headline says it was a bad date. Was it bad before the kidnapping, or did it turn bad only during the kidnapping? If it was bad before the kidnapping, why was she accepting the flowers? (Out of politeness, perhaps? Maybe he said he wanted to apologize with flowers?)

And why sit in the van with the door closed to accept flowers?

And how does a bad first date end after 1:00 a.m. on a Monday night/Tuesday morning, anyway?

None of this is really anyone else's business, of course. A kidnapping is a kidnapping, if that's what happened. But I'm thinking that either our reporter didn't get the obvious info, or he wasn't allowed to include it. (For the victim's safety? To avoid embarrassing the victim? To preserve the integrity of the case?)

My completely ignorant guess is that he *did* keep her in the van against her will, but that the story here isn't exactly what happened.

If so, who screwed up the story? The victim? The police? Our reporter?

Thank you Eric - Always a problem when the story goes to press before the facts are in. There is something so much more to this story. What would be really nice is if the media would keep a list of stories they run and then months down the road would go to the courts, sit in on the trials, and find out the truth and outcomes. Then print the truth no matter how studpid it makes the suspect, victim or in some cases....no crime at all because the key points were found out later after press time. That would make good journalism. Although, that might be too difficult for small guys that really don't care.

Dear In all fairness,

You said: "If the ages were reversed and the man were 31 and the woman 24 would you still be telling these adults to stick to dating people their own age?"

Of course, so many times it's the age difference(maturity) that causes problems in a given relationship. I am not saying that large age gaps = kidnapping or anything that extreme. Obviously this isn't just an issue about the age of these two individuals, but I can't think it's part of the problem.

You said: "I think it's high time that society accepts that it is just as normal for older women to date younger men as for older men to date younger women (a scenario that rarely raises eyebrows)."

I think society has already accepted this, regardless if you classify it as "normal," but it's not really "normal." With the lacking info we have on this case, it's hard to argue any point besides this, so all we are left with is our presumptions of what really happened.

It would be nice if more information is provided in the near future.

Did I read that "she was persuaded to enter her date's van ... so he could give her flowers?"

Why being persuaded to get flowers after midnight? Wasn't she supposed to be in bed, at home?

A gentleman should present the flowers to the lady, not ask her to come and fetch them from his van. That should have been a clue right there that this guy was up to something or the least, not worthy of her time. I think womens' standards have dropped too much in these modern dating time, and they can no longer spot a dud (or a dangerous dud). Anyway, bravo to this lady for seizing that brief opportunity to escape. This must have been very frightening for her, especially after a similar incident in Palo Alto.

I AM REALLY GLAD SHE GOT AWAY NOT ALOT OF WOMEN ARE THAT LUCKY... AND THATS ALL THAT MATTER'S

WHEN YOU GO ON A DATE YOU DO NOT ASK FOR ID OR CHECK BACKGROUND HOW WAS SHE GOING TO KNOW THIS MAN WAS A CRAZY PERSON??

Remember, there are many people out there who, regardless of age are just very gullible and/or just not very bright. We don't excuse that they should be victimized for not being smart. It is those most vulnerable people who are often targeted by predators. It isn't about age.

I think everyone is forgetting the fact that she got away and is safe! There are people out there who pretend to be something or someone there not, just to allow you to have you're gaurd down. What difference does the age make...No means no! I hope you negative people out there never have to experience what this woman went through or have a loved one go through it..if so you would think differently...how insensitive and ignorant people can be....

Let's applaud her bravery and praise her safety. She escaped a horrific situation. She can not be blamed for his actions as no one should ever be taken against their will. Hope the consequences for this man meet the severity of his actions when proven at Court.