Naked photo threats left schoolgirl feeling suicidal
MAN ADMITS TARGETING 15-YEAR-OLD WITH VILE DEMANDS
A SEX predator left a schoolgirl suicidal after blackmailing her with threats to post naked photographs of her online.
Tony Swift posed as a younger man to befriend the 15-year-old on Blackberry Messenger and persuaded her to send intimate pictures of herself, saying he would delete them.
But when she refused his demands for indecent video footage, he turned nasty and said he would publish the pictures she had sent him on Facebook.
That left the girl terrified her friends and family would see them and she begged him not to but he persisted – and even asked her to send images of other young girls.
As Swift, 34, was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for blackmail and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, the victim said the ordeal was so traumatic she tried to kill herself.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the teenager said she at first thought Swift, who said he was only 22, was “really nice” and “wanted to be friends”.
But she added: “I was in a position I couldn’t get out of. He had those pictures of me and he threatened to post them on social media so my friends and family would see if I didn’t send him videos and naked pictures of other girls.
“I begged him and said I would do anything else. He kept putting more and more pressure on me and I didn’t know what to do.
“I was frightened and I just wanted him to leave me alone. I didn’t know what to do to make it all stop.
“I was crying and shaking and thought of my friends and family seeing the pictures he had of me.”
The court heard the victim was “sick” at the thought Swift could have shared her pictures online and fears they could be on the internet for ever. She said: “I had thoughts of ending my life. I even tried to kill myself. I was only a child at the time. No child should ever have those thoughts.”
The court heard the victim bravely informed the police about her ordeal and Swift was investigated.
Detectives discovered Swift, using a series of aliases, had targeted another victim, an adult female with learning difficulties.
Swift, formerly of Stanley, County Durham, was jailed for 45 months last year for the blackmail offences relating to the woman.
Now Judge Julie Clemitson has extended his jail term by 30 months after he pleaded guilty to blackmail and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in relation to the 15-year-old.
The judge told him: “You threatened to post images she had sent you on Facebook if she didn’t send you the videos you wanted.
“Thankfully, she was sensible enough and mature enough to feel able to contact the police.” Judge Clemitson said the victim was caused “extreme anguish” and the effect on her, which included the attempt on her own life, “cannot be overstated”. The judge told Swift: “Blackmail is a particularly despicable and loathsome offence because of the mental anguish it causes to the victim. “Here, your victim was a child. That is the serious aggravating factor.
“You are clearly a sexual predator. You clearly pose a significant risk of sexual harm to girls and vulnerable women.”
Judge Clemitson said Swift must sign the sex offender register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years. Stephen Littlewood, for Swift, said that the pictures had not been shared on the internet and that Swift was remorseful.
You are clearly a sexual predator. You clearly pose a risk of sexual harm to girls and vulnerable women Judge Julie Clemitson