The man stood accused of assuming the identity of a woman in order to gain access to private photos of naked women, which he then used to blackmail his victim. He has, to date, not provided any explanation for these actions.
At the start of the session, the accused stated that he had relayed everything concerning the case already. When the President of the Court asked him if he stood by his statements, he replied that he did. He also claimed he knew no one of the name which was used as a pseudonym.
The criminal investigator in charge of the case explained that the woman's name appeared for the first time in May 2016, in a case in which a 13-year-old girl was targeted. Then, in February 2017, a woman went to the police to file a complaint against the person who used the pseudonym in question, alleging she had been blackmailed with intimate photos of herself.
Between June and November 2016, the complainant had online conversations with the accused in which the photos were exchanged, but the person using the pseudonym asked for more. The victim then blocked her, which resulted in the blackmail attempt. As the investigation had revealed no clue to the "woman" in question, everything indicated that it could have been a false account. After Facebook was contacted and a search was conducted, investigators reached an IP address in the Oesling. The woman who lived there had referred the police to her partner. In June 2017, the accused declared that he was innocent. Although there were indications that the man was responsible for the blackmail, he continued to deny responsibility.
The accused's lawyer, conceded that there were indications in the file, but claimed it was not sufficient. The representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office, disagreed, saying there was more than sufficient evidence against the accused. As a result, she recommended a sentence of one year in prison, accompanied by a fine.
The verdict is expected on 4 March.
