Three men blackmailed a teenager by threatening to disclose explicit photographs from the girl’s “OnlyFans” account to her family and friends if she didn’t hand over €10,000, a court has heard.
David Ostrowski (21) told his older brother Daniel Stepien (26) about the account that his friend had set up. This girl had told a select group of trusted friends and had set the account so it could not be accessed in Ireland.
Stepien, who had a gambling addiction at the time, then began to message the woman and threatened to send the photographs to her father, family and friends if she didn’t pay him €10,000. He sent her screenshots of her father’s Facebook page and photographs of her home.
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Garda Des Mulvihill told Eoghan Cole BL, prosecuting, that the teenager ultimately contacted the gardaí, who then launched a sting operation. They advised the woman to contact her blackmailer and arrange to meet up to pay the €10,000.
The woman went to a bank, pretended to withdraw the cash and went to a location in Clonsilla, Dublin where she had been advised that a certain car would be parked. She was instructed to leave the envelope of cash by the car and Dawid Michalik (37) was later observed, arriving at the car to pick up the envelope.
The envelope was not where Michalik expected it to be and gardaí kept the vehicle under surveillance until both Ostrowski and Stepien arrived. All three were arrested.
Gda Mulvihill told Mr Cole that follow-up searches of Michalik’s home revealed six large wraps of cannabis valued at €5,000, while seven cannabis plants were found during a search of Stepien’s home. The cannabis plants were valued at €800 each and Stepien said he was cultivating it for his own use.
Stepien, of Annfield Court, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to making an unwarranted demand for €10,000 with menace on dates between March 6 and March 9, 2021. He also admitted possession of the cannabis plants at his home. He has six convictions for minor offences.
Michalik, of Parklands, Northwood, Dublin 9, pleaded guilty to the same offence of making unwarranted demands of €10,000 and possession of cannabis at his home on March 9, 2021. He has nine convictions for road traffic offences.
Ostrowski, also of Annfield Court, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to demanding money with menace. He has no previous convictions.
Judge Martin Nolan said it was a nasty crime in which Stepien took advantage of a situation after his younger brother broke a friend’s confidence.
He said without the information from Ostrowski, he could have not blackmailed the girl or sent the communications which caused “huge trauma”.
“She believed she was being watched. She made the right decision and contacted the gardaí,” the judge said.
He said that all three men had different roles. The information was provided by Ostrowski, the plan was hatched by Stepien, and Michalik provided the car where the woman was asked to leave the cash.
Judge Nolan accepted that all three had pleaded guilty, expressed genuine remorse and were hard-working men.
He said Stepien had the “highest level of culpability” and sentenced him to three and half years in prison. He took the drug offence into account.
Judge Nolan said Michalik knew what he was doing and that he was due to get paid for his misbehaviour. He sentenced him to two years in prison and again took the drug offence into account.
He said the situation with Ostrowski was more complicated. He revealed “embarrassing facts” about a good friend to his brother who took advantage of that situation, but he said Ostrowski “went along” with his older brother’s plan.
Judge Nolan adjourned Ostrowski to next March to allow for the preparation of a report from the Probation Service to determine if he is suitable for community service. If deemed suitable he said he would order that Ostrowski carry out 150 hours of community service in lieu of a 21-month prison term.
“He would be going to jail if he was two or three years older. That is what saved him, his age and his immaturity,” Judge Nolan said.
Earlier evidence
Gda Mulvihill told Mr Cole that the victim was in her final year of secondary school when she set up an account on the “OnlyFans” website to “self-publish explicit content for reward”. She made this known to a small circle of trusted friends and set her account so that it could not be accessed within Ireland.
In March 2021, she got a message from a subscriber who claimed to know who she was, know who her father was and know what school she went to. The subscriber said he had photographs downloaded from her account ready to send to the people in her life unless she handed over €10,000.
The girl continued to get messages but she blocked the account to prevent contact. The man set up another account and sent her a screenshot of her father’s Facebook account.
The woman went to gardaí after she was also sent photographs of her home. Her neighbours provided the gardaí with CCTV footage that captured a car stopping outside her home before driving on.
The sting operation was set up and the woman made contact to confirm that she would hand over the cash.
She was told to leave the envelope through the open window of a particular car but the window was not open. She contacted the subscriber who told her to just leave it behind the wheel of the car.
Gardaí kept the vehicle under surveillance and saw Michalik approach on a bike before going to the car in an attempt to retrieve the envelope. He left and Stepien and Ostrowski arrived soon after.
Michalik told gardaí in interview that he was due to get €1,500 for providing the vehicle where the envelope was to be left, but he claimed he didn’t know that Stepien had been blackmailing the woman.
Stepien made full admissions and said the victim was a friend of his younger’s brother. He accepted that he had threatened to expose her if she didn’t hand over the €10,000.
He had a debt of €18,000 which he was desperate to pay off. He acknowledged that he deliberately frightened the teenager so she would give him the money.
Ostrowski admitted to gardaí that he knew his friend was the target of his brother’s scheme. He said he regretted his behaviour and was ashamed and disgusted with himself.
Kitty Pearle BL, defending Michalik, submitted that her client’s role was limited. “He was not the man who came up with the idea. He left his car in the agreed place and he can be distinguished from the other two men,” counsel said.
Simon Matthews BL defending Stepien accepted that his client was in a different position from the other two men.
“He organised and initiated all interaction with the injured party,” counsel said, but added that Stepien had been drinking heavily at the time, using drugs and gambling.
“He had run up a debt and he was desperate,” Mr Matthews said, before he submitted that his client’s remorse was very clear throughout his interview with gardaí. He handed in a letter of apology Stepien had written to the victim and various references, including one from his employer.
Brian Storan BL, defending Ostrowski, said his client put his friend through “unfathomable anxiety and panic”. He also handed in numerous testimonials that spoke well of his client and said Ostrowski had “hopes for a bright future”.
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