Is it normal that i want to date a boy that is possibly bad news?

Basically this guy i know had an ex that was controlling about female friends, i'm now a lot closer to him after their break up and he recently told me he likes me and i also think i like him we get on really well and are very comfortable with each other. His ex has said that he was quite aggressive and would upset her a lot and whilst this may be true i don't feel threatened by him in any way and she has a history of making things up so i don't know how true this all is. I don't intend to be in a long term relationship with him but is it normal to want to be involved with him even if he may actually be horrible?