A Melbourne man who pleaded guilty to blackmail after threatening to publish explicit videos of his ex-partner will not spend time in prison over his actions.
Martin Nguyen, 30, was arrested after sending a series of messages to his ex-girlfriend the day after they had broken up, threatening to share explicit videos if she did not return luxury items.
Nguyen said he would send sex videos to his ex-girlfriend's mother and father and also threatened to "ruin her career".
A County Court judge labelled his behaviour a "gross breach of trust".
The court heard the relationship ended after Nguyen became controlling and jealous and argued with his partner when she wanted to spend time with friends.
Nguyen kept explicit photos and videos
During their six-month relationship, Nguyen took photographs and recorded videos of the pair engaging in sexual acts.
The court heard his partner believed he had deleted the videos when he had actually kept copies on his iCloud account.
In messages sent in April 2021 and read out in court, he threatened to publish the videos unless his ex-partner returned gifts and money she was given during the relationship, including a Louis Vuitton handbag.
Another read, "It will forever be on the internet and I'll make sure the SEOs [search engine optimisation] will be done in a way that if anyone searches for you, they'll find it."
The victim went to police, who arrested Nguyen and seized his mobile phone on the same day.
The court heard Nguyen admitted to sending the messages but told police he had taken cocaine and had no intention of actually doing what he was threatening, but wanted to "bluff to really get her attention".
He was charged with blackmail, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
He pleaded guilty in July.
Today he was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order and directed to undertake 200 hours of unpaid community work and submit to testing and treatment for drug and alcohol use.
Judge describes offending as a 'gross breach of trust'
In sentencing, County Court Judge Angela Ellis said she had taken Nguyen's early guilty plea and remorse into account when sparing him jail time, but reiterated the offending was "very serious".
"You should be under no misunderstanding as to how serious the court's view of this offending is," Judge Ellis said.
"To have a partner, who she had very recently ceased a relationship with, threaten to send videos particularly to her parents, must have been very frightening or upsetting.
"I denounce your conduct."
The judge urged Nguyen to control his feelings of insecurity and jealousy in future relationships.
"You will need to keep your emotions and fears of abandonment in check," she said.
