This article is from page 1 of the 2012-02-07 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 1 JPG
AN unemployed construction worker attempted to blackmail a woman he met through an internet dating site for € 15,000, an Ennis court has heard.
Alan Custy (35) demanded money from the woman after he led her to believe that he had recorded an “inti- mate” encounter between them in his jeep. A Garda investigation determined that Custy did not have a camera in his jeep and that no recording existed.
Custy, with an address at 76 Dun na hInse, Ennis, pleaded guilty to making an unwarranted demand for monies with menaces contrary to Section 17 of the Criminal Justice Public Or- der Act.
The court heard that the complainant and the accused met through two websites, connectingsingles.com and smooch.com
The court heard that Custy and the victim were both involved in relationships at the time.
Over a 10-day period from July 9 to 19 (2010), Custy made the demands through a series of 11 text messages and a number of phone calls.
The court heard that he looked for € 15,000 from either the woman or her husband, claiming he needed the money to “pay the taxman”.
According to one text message read out in court, Custy told the woman, “I’d say he would find € 15,000 for proof you cheated on him”.
Garda Claire O’Shaughnessy told the court that the woman told her she was being blackmailed.
The woman said that Custy had told her he was single. She said that he told her “he was under financial pressure”.