Man, 28, attempted to blackmail a Taranaki teen, 13, for naked photos

Through Snapchat, Steven Barry Gear attempted to bribe a young teen for nude photos. Photo / File

A young teen who was blackmailed by a man wanting nude photos of her has made her feelings towards him clear: “I want him to know he’s a dick for doing that and can go to hell.”

After Steven Barry Gear, 28, convinced the 13-year-old to share a “secret” with him, he went on to use that information against her by threatening to reveal it to her parents if she didn’t send him naked photos of herself.

But the teen refused, pointing out her age and asking why he would be interested in such images.

He responded with a crude message referencing what he liked about the female body.

The Taranaki man’s communication with the teen began in March this year, and ultimately led to his appearance in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday.

According to the summary of facts, Gear had sent her a text message stating he heard she had Covid-19.

The victim, who was known to him, responded via Facebook Messenger, confirming she had the virus and the two then went on to chat.

But the content took a sordid turn when Gear told her to message him through the social media platform, Snapchat. The app is designed to automatically delete a message once it has been read by the recipient.

Steven Barry Gear appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday. Photo / Tara Shaskey

While conversing through Snapchat, Gear asked her to tell him a secret and in turn, he would do the same.

However, once she did, he said he could now use that information to “blackmail her”.

Gear went on to ask the victim to send him photos of her body.

“She replied that she was 13 years old and queried why he would want them,” the summary stated.

“I’m a guy lol,” he responded, before sending the crude message.

Gear reminded her of her secret and said “so nothing wrong with pics”.

“When I’m 13, yes,” the victim said, shutting him down.

He continued to try and convince her to send the photos but she instead showed her mother the messages, which had not yet been deleted by the app.

When spoken to by police, Gear told officers “it was only a joke”.

“It was not supposed to be like this. I’m sorry, I didn’t want anything from her,” he said.

In court, Gear appeared for sentence on an admitted charge of indecent communication with a person under the age of 16.

In her victim impact statement, the girl said the offending had left her feeling “really uncomfortable”.

“When I told my mum, I was shaking,” she said.

“I want Steven to know what he did was wrong and that I didn’t like it. I want him to know he is a dick for doing that and can go to hell for doing that.”

Appearing for the police, prosecutor Holly Bullock said the case’s aggravating factors included the victim’s vulnerability, a breach of trust and a moderate level of premeditation.

Bullock sought that Gear be added to the Child Sex Offender Register, submitting he was a risk to females under 16 with access to internet devices

She said a pre-sentence report showed he had a lack of understanding and responsibility for his behaviour.

But defence lawyer Julian Hannam argued against the registration.

He said there was no specialist assessment to prove that Gear was a real and genuine risk and the consequence of such registration would have a significant impact on his client.

Hannam suggested an adjournment was necessary for the court to explore the matter further.

Judge Gregory Hikaka agreed and rescheduled the sentencing for January 9 for the purpose of obtaining a specialist report.