Sex act pictures blackmailer jailed (From Gazette & Herald)

Wayne Gibson is jailed for sex act pictures blackmail

9:28am Tuesday 11th September 2012 in News By Jennifer Bell, jennifer.bell@thepress.co.uk

A BLACKMAILER who bribed cash out of a former football referee by threatening to reveal intimate pictures of his paid-for sex acts has been jailed for a year.

Wayne Gibson had an 18-month arrangement with the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, who paid him between £20 to £30 per sexual favour, York Crown Court heard yesterday.

Gibson, who has a 12-year cannabis addiction, had decided to blackmail the man out of £200 to feed his drug habit by saying he had photographs of the two of them in a comprising position – images which he threatened to show the man’s daughter.

The court heard how Gibson, of Station Court, Easingwold, arranged a meeting with the man in York Central Library on July 7, this year, to swap the pictures for the cash.

But on handing over the bundle of notes, the man realised Gibson had given him an empty folder, York Crown Court heard.

Gibson then continued to terrorise his victim with his threats as he attempted to get more money out of him. The victim then told the police about his arrangement with Gibson and about the blackmail.

Defending, Taryn Turner told York Crown Court that Gibson had regretted his actions.

“He has had time to consider the callous way he has treated this man,” she said.

“His behaviour was a consequence of his financial difficulties and they come in no doubt because of his substance abuse.”

The 28-year-old had pleaded guilty to a charge of blackmail with menaces at an earlier hearing.

Sentencing Gibson, Judge Scott Wolstenholme told him the man would have been terrified that his daughter would find out about his secret meetings.

He said: “You have committed a very serious offence of blackmail. You knew the victim of this blackmail. You have an arrangement where he will pay from £20 to £30 in return for you to perform sex acts on him.

“From his point of view, and indeed maybe yours, it was shameful behaviour that neither of you were anxious to reveal. In June this year you told him falsely you had photos of the sex acts which you would reveal to his daughter.

“You have since said your victim was a kindly man who would probably have given you the money if you had asked him.

“This is calculated wickedness. You knew the awful difficulties of the pressure which was to give you money or confess to the authorities.”

Gibson was jailed for a year.