Man who tried to extort money from Grindr hook-up has identity hidden in controversial court ruling
The 26 year old threatened to expose a married man to his family unless he paid him £500
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
A man who attempted to blackmail a married man he met on Grindr has had his identity hidden.
The 26 year old, from Perthshire, admitted to trying to extort money from a married man and threatened to expose his Grindr profile to his wife and family if he did not hand over £500.
The victim was allegedly told that his “sexual contact and communication with men would be exposed to his wife, family and friends” if he refused to hand over the money, the Daily Record reported.
It was then the victim reported the blackmailer to police after his threat.
And now, despite pleading guilty, the man will have his identity kept a secret following a controversial court order.
Last week, the Perth Sheriff Court was cleared of members of the public before the case was head and prosecutor Michael Sweeney asked for reporting restrictions to be put in place.
Sweeney said: “The Crown wish to prevent reporting of the complainer’s name, the accused’s named and the locus in this case.
“The reason will be quite clear from the charge. The reason for the accused’s name not to be included is it could be linked to the complainer.”
Solicitor Louisa Wade – who acted on behalf of the blackmailer – said she had no objections to the man’s identity remaining a secret and said he suffered from a gambling addiction and had significant financial problems.
The accused was granted bail and special conditions were placed upon him banning him from contacting the victim.
The sentence was deferred for the preparation of background reports.