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Man jailed for decade-long $1.7 million extortion of former lover

Man jailed for decade-long $1.7 million extortion of former lover

A North Queensland court has been told a man who blackmailed his former lover made his victim's life a living hell.
The man, aged in his 40s, pleaded guilty in the District Court in Townsville on Tuesday to one count of extortion.
He admitted to coercing a woman into paying him about $1.7 million over more than a decade by threatening to tell her husband about their past affair.
Judge Gregory Lynham sentenced the man, who cannot be be named to protect his victim, to 10 years in jail.
In his sentencing remarks Judge Lynham said the man had forced the woman to pay $1.7 million in more than 1,000 transactions from 2013 until his arrest in 2023.
The woman's victim impact statement showed how much she had suffered, he said.
"Prior to your incarceration her life had been controlled by your phone calls and constant demands," he said.
"Things started to take a turn for the worse, and from that time on her life became a living hell.
Judge Lynham said the offending escalated from 2013, despite the woman's desperate attempts to break off contact.
"He commenced to blackmail the complainant by threatening if he did not meet his demands he would tell her husband she had engaged in several affairs, including their own," he said.
The woman blocked the man's number and disconnected her landline, but the harassment continued.
"If the complainant missed your calls and did not respond within a certain time frame the amount demanded would increase," Judge Lynham said.
The woman had initially asked solicitors to send cease-and-desist letters but eventually felt her only recourse was to go to police, who charged him in late 2023.
He was taken into custody in April 2024 after breaching bail by continuing to contact her.
Judge Lynham described the offending as unsophisticated but serious, and evidently motivated by an alcohol and gambling addiction.
"You were turning over tens of thousands of dollars each week in a SportsBet account," he said.
"There's no suggestion you used the money to fund an extravagant lifestyle."
The man will be eligible for parole in May 2027.
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