Man threatened to ruin his victims’ lives

Sex offender likely to be jailed for sick blackmail plot

A sex offender is facing a fresh prison term after hatching a sick plot to blackmail three victims, including a schoolboy, into sending him naked images.

Reece Scobie befriended the trio on the social media site Grindr before plaguing them with texts and then, threats to ruin their lives.

Each reluctantly agreed to send him a naked picture which the 23-year-old used to extort further images.

Each time, he used the threat of posting the initial images on social media and sending them to family and friends.

His youngest victim was a 15-year-old schoolboy who, after days of persuasion, sent a single image to Scobie, who was using an assumed name and hiding behind a fake profile.

In return he sent the boy photographs of a slim, tanned model, which Perth Sheriff Court heard he had simply plucked from the internet.

Over the next few days he bombarded the child with messages requesting images before Scobie “tired of excuses” and told the boy he would post the naked picture on social media and send it to everyone he knew.

Scobie was even more aggressive with his other two victims, telling them: “I’m going to go on your Facebook page and hack it and then distribute your dirty chat and pictures.

“I will send them individually to all your family and each and every one of your friends. It may take me all day but it will be worth it.”

Scobie claimed he had the technical expertise to hack Google’s computers and attach the pictures, along with his victim’s names and phone numbers, to websites.

He also claimed to have intimate knowledge of police methods and access to state-of-the-art encryption software to cover his actions. In reality, it took just one phone call to the police and a look at his mobile phone to bring him to justice.

Scobie, described as a prisoner at Perth, admitted two charges of attempted extortion in March last year at an address in Inchture.

Appearing at Perth Sheriff Court, he also admitted two charges of intentionally causing a 15-year-old boy to participate in sexual activity by inducing and coercing him into creating and sending indecent images and another charge of menacing the boy with the threat of publishing indecent images of him on social media and sending them to his family and friends in an attempt to extort him into sending indecent images.

Scobie will be sentenced on July 27. He remains on the sex offenders register and was remanded in custody.

Reece Scobie blackmailed his victims into sending him naked pictures.