Gippsland swindler Dale Western pleads guilty to BDSM blackmail racket on Melbourne dad

An unhinged swindler blackmailed a kinky BDSM Melbourne sex dad during an old school Hollywood-style strongarm racket.

Dale Western pleaded guilty to blackmail. Facebook.

A blackmailer with a split personality who posed as a soldier threatened to expose a Melbourne dad’s double-life as a kinky BDSM player.

Dale Western, 42, was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday to a 22-month jail term after pleading guilty to a rolled-up blackmail charge.

Western strongarmed a Melbourne family man who had been in a secret BDSM relationship with a woman.

Western, who knew the woman, contacted his victim via a BDSM chat site then ran his racket on the married dad between June 29 and July 15, 2021.

The victim told Western he was a married salesman who lived in Melbourne’s northeast.

The pair discussed their BDSM interests and spoke about being “dominants” who had “submissives”.

Western lied to the victim, telling him he was an Australian Defence Soldier who did two tours of Afghanistan.

The victim also told Western about his favourite “sub” and sent four photographs of the woman in “pornographic/submissive poses”.

Western told the victim he and his sub wanted to meet him.

The swindler then emailed the victim asking if he had “time for a quick call”.

“I have a proposition for you … it will be worth your while …,” Western wrote.

“Waiting … I’m excited to offer this and so is my brat.”

Western posed as a soldier.

The victim rang Western who answered the phone with an “angry threatening tirade in a deep raised voice”.

Western said he was a “soldier mate” of the victim’s former sub, threatened the dad, told him he knew who he and his family were, that he was being watched and that he was a “low dog”.

Western also told the victim he knew where he worked and dropped the company name.

Western, who also claimed the victim could be tracked using “ADF technology”, demanded the victim pay him $7000.

“ASAP tick tock,” Western said.

The victim agreed to pay $1000 immediately and $6000 by the end of the week.

“I will send details soon,” Western said.

“Did you take the butt plug photos of her … tell the truth brother.”

The victim emailed Western to tell him he had deposited the cash.

“Can you please leave me alone …,” the victim said.

“I am a dog and piece of crap getting into this position and am sorry … I will get the remaining money somehow and bring this to an end.”

Western then upped his threats, telling the victim he knew where his mother lived.

“So be a good dog and don’t bite the hand that feeds you …,” Western said.

“The sooner you pay for the goods the sooner we all go our separate way.”

Western then demanded the victim send videos of the submissive woman.

“If you have any videos of her I suggest you send it to me as ADF can retrieve it anyway so you would be doing yourself a favour showing us …,” Western said.

“I know you have at least one so don’t f**k around … the double penetration and clamps and her face with blond hair … I will only ask once.”

Western gleaned $8,000 from his victim.

Western also threatened to deliver “files” to the victim’s wife, other family and police and referred to “one of the boys” visiting the frightened dad’s suburb.

The victim paid another $7000 to Western but the swindler demanded $10,000 on top of that.

“10k gets you deluxe package with lifetime warranty and I personally make sure no one talks again … no one gets hurt …,” Western said.

“We have everything … 10k is the only way I will break the soldiers’ brotherhood.”

The “panicked” victim reported Western to police.

“The emails are traumatising and I have been made to fear that, unless I pay, these threats will be actioned.,” the victim told police.

“I’ve got a heap of emotions. I’m fearful, pissed off, scared, scared about what it will do to my family.

“(I) Feel like an idiot … now I just want this done with… I just don’t know what I would have done if I had not contacted the police as I can’t afford to keep paying.

“I only paid the money because I was scared and wanted this to end … I am devastated, shaking all the time and there is a knot in my gut that won’t go away.

“I can’t sleep … It’s affecting my work … I’m always looking over my shoulder and feeling anxious and stressed and angry.”

Police arrested Western at his Stratford home on July 20, 2021.

Investigators found evidence Western had searched ‘fetlife.com’ on his devices.

The court heard Western, a Gippsland father, has criminal priors for drug trafficking, assault and gun offences.

Western also has a personality and identity disorder where an imaginary person named ‘Robbie’ infiltrates the felon’s decision making.

Western, who had spent 639 days on remand, was also handed a two-year community correction order.

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