A cruel blackmailer caused a married father to consider suicide after threatening to expose his online chats with gay men.
Robin King, terrorised his victim and made him agree to paying £500 to stop his wife finding out about him chatting with other men on an adult website.
The victim, who wishes to remain anonymous, was also accused of talking to underage children by 43-year-old King, who claimed to have a recording of the victim speaking with minors.
King also bullied his victim and told the man he was going to go to the police and distribute his address and name to paedophile hunters.
Despite the claims being untrue, King sent another demand for another £500 two months later, to further guarantee his silence, according to Stoke-on-Trent Live.
Now the defendant, of Oak Place, Meir, has been jailed for two years and three months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
Prosecutor Denise Fitzpatrick said the victim, referred to as Mr A in court, did not contact the police to complain but officers contacted him after finding evidence of the blackmails on King’s iPad which was seized during a search of his home on July 26, 2018.
Miss Fitzpatrick said: “Police seized his mobile telephones and laptops. They downloaded the contents of the defendant’s mobile on to the iPad. It was analysed and police found in the previous year, in 2017, his iPhone had sent blackmailing texts to another mobile.
“Police investigated. They contacted Mr A. He had been blackmailed in February and April 2017. He had paid the money and had not reported it to the police. He had not wanted to pursue a prosecution.
“However, when contacted by the police he made a witness statement. He described how in February 2017 he was on an adult chatline primarily used by men to chat to other men. He has a wife and children.
“He spoke to a man and was asked if he wanted to chat offline. Mr A used his telephone to chat with the man.
“A few minutes later Mr A received a text saying, ‘You have been recorded online talking to underage kids. We can report it to the police. You have admitted sexual activity with an underage girl. You will be put on a paedophile hunter website unless you call this number immediately and apologise’.
“The text was from the defendant’s email address at 7.30pm on February 22, 2017.
“A minute later Mr A received another message from the same number. It said, ‘If you do not call and apologise we might post your details online’.
“A few minutes later he received a call from the same number. Mr A complained he was not a paedophile. He was extremely upset and in a panic.”
The court heard Mr A texted the defendant and asked if he could guarantee he would not ask for more money.
Miss Fitzpatrick said: “King agreed that Mr A was not a paedophile but said he would have to pay £500 so his family did not find out. He said the money would be used to catch sex offenders.”
Mr A paid £500 into the bank account as instructed on February 25, 2017 after King sent him his bank account, sort code and last name.
He had borrowed the money to pay King. But two months later he received a demand for another £500. He explained he only had £145. King accepted his offer and it was paid into his account on April 19, 2017.
In a victim statement, Mr A said the blackmails caused him financial hardship, stress and anxiety. It affected his mental health and he was very stressed that King was going to ask for more money. He had considered taking his own life.
King, of Oak Place, Meir, pleaded guilty to two charges of blackmail.
The court heard the defendant has 14 previous convictions for 35 offences including 22 for theft and dishonesty offences. They include obtaining property and services by deception and making a false statement or representation to obtain benefit.
Barry White, mitigating, said there could have been more blackmail demands but they stopped after the second occasion. He said: “There was no direct threat to tell the family but to tell the police and other agencies.
“King did not hide his details at all. His demands were not violent or threatening.”
Mr White described blackmail as an ‘ugly crime’ and said the defendant was remorseful. He added a prison sentence could be detrimental to the defendant’s son, who has difficulties, and urged the court to suspend the sentence.
But Judge David Fletcher marked the offending with an immediate jail term.
He told King: “You threatened to expose your victim. He paid you £500 in February 2017 and you went back for more, asking for a further £500. He only had £145 and he discharged that.
“Blackmail causes huge stress. He was himself contemplating taking his own life. What he had done was not anything that was illegal but it was something he did not want members of his family to know about.
“You told the victim the money would be put towards fighting sexual offending, a complete fiction as we now know.”
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