Grindr blackmailer to keep ID a secret
Sheriff agrees to extortion rap restrictions
A blackmailer who tried to extort money from a married man he met on gay dating website Grindr is to have his identity hidden following a controversial court order.
The 26-year-old’s ID will remain secret as a result of a highly unusual ruling by a sheriff.
The man, from Perthshire, admitted trying to force his victim to hand over cash to avoid his relationship being exposed to his wife and family.
He attempted to extort £ 500 from a named individual at an address in Perth between December 8 and 11 last year.
The victim was told his “sexual contact and communication with men would be exposed to his wife, family and friends” if he did not hand over the money. Perth Sheriff Court was cleared of members of the public before the case was called on Friday and a solicitor entered a guilty plea on behalf of the accused.
Prosecutor Michael Sweeney said the accused had no previous convictions and immediately asked for a series of reporting restrictions to be put in place.
He said: “The Crown wish to prevent reporting of the complainer’s name, the accused’s name and the locus in this case. The reason will be quite clear from the charge. The reason for the accused’s name to be included is it could be l inked to the complainer.”
Solicitor Louisa Wade, who acted for the blackmailer, said she had no objection to her client’s identity remaining secret.
She said: “The root of it is he has had a gambling addiction and has significant financial problems.”
Sheriff Michael Reekie granted the motion and deferred sentence for the preparation of background reports and a Restriction of Liberty Order assessment on the accused.
The accused was granted bail and special conditions were imposed upon him banning him from contacting his victim.
It is understood the victim – who is his 50s – met the accused after posting a profile on Grindr.
The victim called in police last month after the man’s threat.
The accused’s name could be linked to the complainer