Teen threatened to snap children’s arms
A TEENAGER who tried to extort $27,000 from two families warned children’s arms ‘‘would snap like twigs’’ if his demands were not met.
Details of the four threatening letters dropped in mailboxes in June – two to each of the families known to him – can now be revealed after the Christchurch 17-year-old admitted two charges of making demands with intent to extort.
He told one family their children would experience ‘‘suffering’’ if the parents did not stump up the cash. He outlined dropoff points close to his own Mt Pleasant home, and gave them one-day deadlines to pay up.
Later, he told police he made the threats for money to support ‘‘a lifestyle he could not afford’’.
The anonymous letters alarmed the Mt Pleasant community where the teen lived, near his victims, placing two primary schools on high alert and prompting extra police patrols.
The teenager, whose name suppression was continued in Christchurch District Court on Thursday, told police he stopped only once the threats gained media attention, and he realised the impact of his actions.
The first family to receive letters was known to the teen after their children visited his family home for tuition. The initial letter was dropped in their mailbox on June 7, threatening to harm their children and pupils from an anonymous school if they did not pay $5000 cash. He outlined a drop-off point near his home for them to leave the money.
Four days later, he tried to extort a further $7000 in a second letter. He proposed to hurt the children again.
‘‘On both occasions [he] checked the drop-off points to ascertain if money had been paid,’’ police said.
A member of the second family had mentored the teen. On June 14, his first letter told them to leave $5000 in their letterbox by 9pm the next day. Failure to do so would result in suffering to their children, he wrote, warning ‘‘their arms would snap like twigs’’. Further threats were made about harming children at a local school.
He checked the mailbox the next day and when he discovered it was empty he dropped another letter stating a second deadline to pay $10,000. ‘‘This letter was more direct and referred to the [victim] by name and also mentioned where [their] child slept and which school the children went to.’’
The families did not comply with his demands and alerted police. He was arrested on September 27. On Thursday, the teen was remanded for sentencing on January 30.