Accused pleads guilty to extorting cousin, uttering threats

21-year-old gets three months in jail for getting 14-year-old cousin to send racy photos in exchange for cigarettes, as well as saying he would torture ex’s boyfriend

A young man accused of pressuring his 14-year-old cousin to send him scantilyclad photos and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend has pled guilty to extortion and uttering threats.

James Witts, 21, appeared in Medicine Hat Provincial Court on Thursday in person, where he was sentenced to three months in jail for extortion and three years probation for the threat.

Members of his family and the complainant for the uttering threats charge were in court to show their support, which Judge Gordon Krinke said brings him “great comfort.”

According to a joint submission of facts, the extortion charge stems from an incident on Oct. 26, 2017, where the teenage complainant asked Witts to buy her cigarettes.

Witts asked her for pictures in exchange, threatening to tell their grandmother that the complainant was on drugs and having sex with his friends if she didn’t comply.

The victim did comply, sending her cousin pictures of her in her underwear before telling their grandmother what occurred.

“It’s not child pornography,” the special prosecutor emphasized, as the victim wasn’t naked in the photos.

The uttering threats charge occurred on April 26, 2018, when police were called to the house of Witts’ ex-girlfriend, who is also the mother of his child, after she had reported a disturbance.

The accused had been ringing her doorbell repeatedly and sent her a text threatening to torture and cut the throat of her now boyfriend.

“This seems to be something that has arisen ... from some mental health issues,” the prosecutor said.

In addition to the time in jail and on probation, Witts will have to provide his probation officer with proof of counselling, be forbidden from using drugs or alcohol — except as prescribed by a doctor — cannot possess weapons and is prohibited from contacting his cousin.

Defence lawyer William Wister said his client, who has no prior criminal record, is a sexual abuse survivor, who suffers from anxiety, flashbacks and heart palpitations as a result of trauma.

“He welcomed the opportunity to be referred to a mental health professional by his probation officer,” said Wister.

Krinke provided the accused with the option of serving his sentence intermittently, which Witts declined.

“I just want to get it over with,” he said.

Additional charges of luring an underage child and criminal harassment were withdrawn.