Police arrest 26-year-old for suspicion of blackmailing teen

Parents of 14-year-old file complaint with police after finding out man allegedly blackmailed girl, threatened to circulate nude photos of her

Raanan Ben-Zur|Published: 08.18.13 , 22:47

Police arrested Saturday a 26-year-old Tira resident for suspicion of blackmailing a 14-year-old girl, whom he met in an online chat room.

According to suspicion, the suspect tricked her into sending him nude photos of her, and threatened to publish them unless she continued to send him photos.

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The two started chatting several weeks ago, and at some point over the past few weeks exchanged phone numbers and continued to talk.

Police say the man forbade the girl from making contact with any other men and threatened to publicize her personal details if she refused to comply with his demands.

"You are mine," the suspect wrote to rthe girl. "I will not have you writing to anyone else."

When the girl refused, the suspect posted her phone number on several websites, prompting strangers to call her and proposition her. As a result, the girl turned to the man asking that he take her number down, and he told her he would do so only if she sent him nude photos of her.

She refused at first, but eventually sent him the photos, which only made matters worse, as he kept asking for more photos and continued to threaten her.

The girl finally told her parents about the case, and they filed a complaint with the police. The girl gave the police the suspect's phone number, leading to his arrest.

During police questioning, the Tira resident said he did not know the girl was 14 years old, and claimed the girl had sent him the photos of her own accord.