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Home / New Zealand

'Hurry up and show me a body pic': How a blackmailer trying to get explicit images of woman came unstuck

By Astrid Austin
Hawkes Bay Today·
20 Mar, 2019 02:03 AM4 mins to read

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Woman ignored Carl Thompson's threats until she found out it had been happening to others. Photo / 123RF

Woman ignored Carl Thompson's threats until she found out it had been happening to others. Photo / 123RF

A Hawke's Bay woman is urging others to remain vigilant after a young man tried to blackmail her on Facebook into sending him explicit images.

Carl Thompson, 17, contacted the woman saying he had images of her in compromising positions and demanded she send him further "adult-themed" photographs.

If she didn't, he would post the images he claimed to have on a public website or to their family and friends.

He didn't realise the 22-year-old had never taken nor distributed nude photographs. When she asked him to show her the photos he claimed he had, he refused.

But he was persistent, sending up to 23 messages within a short period of time and threatening the victim that she better "hurry up show me a body pic or s*** gon down", a police summary of facts stated.

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"I was getting a little freaked out ... I was more worried about how people can make things look like something, even when they're not," the woman said.

He also started saying things about her family, including that he would send it to her grandmother, she says.

"He said that my sister-in-law has given photos, that's why everything was fine and I should learn off to my sister-in-law basically, but she has never done it either because none of us are like that.

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"And then he mentioned about my mum saying that he knows what she does behind my dad's back."

The woman messaged her sister, as she was the only person awake at that time.

"She told me to report it, but in my head I didn't want to get someone in trouble."

It wasn't until two months later, when her sister tagged her in a post from another victim; Hamilton-based Model and Talent agency Stella Management, who said the same man had targeted them, that she decided to contact the police.

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"I let a lot of things go, but once it started affecting other people, I actually realised how bad it was and my sister kept telling me to report it."

Thompson pleaded guilty in the Napier District Court on March 8 to charges of blackmail and forgery.

When Thompson was caught, he told police he'd been bored.

His lawyer William Hawkins told Judge Bridget Mackintosh that Thompson was very remorseful and acknowledged "the pervasive and invasive" nature of his offending, Stuff reported.

"He didn't appreciate the gravity of what he was doing" and the behaviour was "sadly symptomatic of a 17-year-old youth," Hawkins said.

The judge told Thompson he was "naive in the extreme about the level of what you were doing".

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She said he was clearly ashamed of his actions and sentenced him to four months of community detention and 12 months of supervision.

Thompson created a fake profile of 'John TheMan', later changing the name to 'John Lajoie' to contact a number of unknown women he found on a 'suggested friends' list.

Stella Management managing director Julie Nolan said she was first alerted by a "screenshot" of his messages.

Nolan said she worked hard to "maintain a professional business" and "never" contacts clients through social media.

"I think it is really important that this message gets out and that the people that would maybe think of approaching girls learn how serious it is not to do it and that the person who has been caught and arrested is also going to learn a valuable lesson."

Her client base doesn't just include models, but babies through to 90-year-olds, she said.

"It is incredibly important that the parents, at no point think that we do anything unsavoury."

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Detective Sergeant Heath Jones said it was a "hugely important" topic. Reports of young boys and girls "readily sending images of themselves" were beginning to pop up in Hawke's Bay, he said.

"All those images exist and it doesn't take much to get one from a young boy or girl. These are interesting times, challenging times for us."

Jones said Thompson's case in particular highlighted the offender did everything he could to avoid detection but he still got caught.

"I think it shows that those that are using the internet really aren't aware that the internet works both ways."

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