‘Sextortion’ victim speaks out after being tricked into sending nude photos to woman online

A BRAVE victim of ‘sextortion’ has spoken out to describe how he was tricked into exposing himself online, then threatened with blackmail.

One of the texts that was sent to Jon. Picture: Snapper

A BRAVE victim of ‘sextortion’ has spoken out to describe how he was tricked into exposing himself online — then threatened with blackmail.

UK carpenter Jon Pearn, 62, was sent a friend request on Facebook by a mystery woman who convinced him to show her his penis via Skype.

But within minutes he was being threatened with blackmail by people who said they would post the images on the web unless he handed over cash.

The threats continued over a number of days — telling Pearn the pictures would be sent to family members whose names they had got from his Facebook profile.

The Devon resident decided to make a stand and refused to part with his money — telling them he didn’t care what they did and called police.

He has now gone public as a warning to others about “sextortion” — but admits his mates find it “hilarious”.

Pearn said: “I saw someone wanting to be my friend on Facebook a couple of weeks ago who I didn’t know.

“I’d been in hospital for ten days — I thought it was heart problems but it turned out to be a hiatus hernia.

“I was in a mate’s office and logged on and there were three friend requests. I didn’t know them and pressed yes on one by accident.

“Half an hour later I got a private message saying thank you and this woman called Marie Laverly started chatting to me.

“She asked if I had Skype and asked me to go on that.”

Marie initially started writing in French but quickly changed to English, yet she claimed to be from Leicester.

However moments later Marie was urging Pearn to get onto his camera and asking if he could see her before asking did he “like sex”.

One of the texts that was sent to Jon. Picture: Snapper

Pearn wrote back “Yes, I think we all do.”

‘Marie’ then did not waste time in getting to the point of what she wanted

Pearn said: “I’d spent nearly two weeks in hospital and I was bored ****less.

“She was asking if I wanted to see her on camera, so I said yes. The next thing there’s this woman stripping off, a stunning blonde doing stuff to herself.”

However, she repeatedly asked Jon to return the favour, insisting he show an intimate part of himself.

He said: “So, I flashed her my d***.”

A second bout of video footage saw her ask for more images of Pearn’s appendage. By this time Marie was asking him to call her “Angel”.

However, within moments, the entire tone of the exchanges changed and Marie/Angel led with strangely worded threats.

Marie/Angel suggested she would release Pearn’s images to his friends, parents, relatives, current city “and especially your workplace”.

She began to name Jon’s nieces and nephews he was friends with on Facebook before making her intentions clear.

She wrote: “Then you have to pay for that I do not publish. Tell me how much you can pay for your video.”

She went on to suggest that Pearn would be “the unluckiest man in the world because it is spoiled your image at all this great people.”

But Pearn turned on Marie, copying all the threats and calling the police.

Another message sent to Pearn, a victim of sextortion, who was tricked into exposing himself to an online lover who turned out to be a blackmailer. Picture: Snapper

Despite the constant threats, he remained unfazed and called the sextortionist’s bluff

“Because of the names of my nieces and nephews were on Facebook I blocked her immediately there. A few of my nieces would’ve laughed about it anyway.”

Marie then began to call Pearn on Skype, writing about how “this vile Act of evil is punished by the law and even the Italian Government and police interpolates the net” claiming that he could face a $120,000 fine and 25 years in prison.

Realising Pearn was not bothered by her threats, she claimed she had put it on his Facebook page and reduced the blackmail figure to $200.

Again, Jhe told her he was not bothered and was about to call police, whereupon ‘Marie/Angel’ made her last big threat.

‘She’ wrote: “I’m not afraid of the police and to know that I’m a guy and I belong to an organisation and the police can’t find me lol”

Det Con Helen Batten of Plymouth CID said she has investigated a number of the local cases and recently gathered statistics which show the crime is on the rise.

She said that from February 2015 to January 2016 there had been 16 cases in Plymouth, an increase of 45.5 per cent when compared to the previous 12 months when there had been just 11.