Payout bid Landmark claims over sick porn videos
TWO victims of an online porn blackmailer jailed for 32 years last month are set to launch a landmark bid for compensation for mental violence.
The vulnerable women were among hundreds in the UK groomed by Abdul Hasib Elahi posing as a “sugar daddy” after he found them on Twitter.
He persuaded both to perform degrading acts on camera with the fake promise of thousands of pounds.
But when they refused his increasingly sick demands he threatened to expose the pair – and then circulated the images online when they cut contact.
Victim Megan – not her real name – was spotted by Elahi, 26, when she tweeted about being jobless at 18.
She said: “He put me through hell and made me hate myself.” She was terrified people would recognise her after he posted the images and her contact details following a threat to send thugs to her home. Student Lara, 23, who was heavily in debt when Elahi promised her £3,000 for “vanilla” photos in 2018, said: “They were circulated a whole year. I felt horror.
“I was suicidal and needed therapy. My independent sexual violence advisor said I can make a claim.” The women will seek damages under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority scheme.
They would be the first to claim for mental injuries after a stranger forced them into sick acts on camera.
CICA says a violent crime can include “a threat… causing fear of immediate violence”. Lawyers say the claims will be complex as he did not inflict “violence” in the usual sense. But they could open the floodgates.
Birmingham Crown Court heard about 550 UK women and girls are believed to have been targeted by Elahi, who pocketed more than £25,000 selling “box sets” of content globally, including on encrypted app Telegram.
He admitted 158 charges following a National Crime Agency investigation.