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Family charged over sex chat blackmail

Published: 3 Feb 13 18:00 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45978/20130203/

Seven people have been charged in connection with the blackmail of a man over a sex chat.

The sex chat led to the man from Östergötland in eastern Sweden being forced to pay some 1.9 million kronor ($280,000) to the gang.

The seven suspects, who are reported to all have some family connection to each other, have now been charged at Norrköpings district court for aggravated blackmail, among other charges.

The man's problems began when he in 2009 started chatting with people who posed as young girls. He was then contacted by several members of the gang who said they were relatives of the young girl.

He was threatened that if he didn't pay up they would contact his wife, employer and the police.

The alleged blackmail is reported to have continued over a period of two years with the man finally contacting the police in early 2011.

The suspects are for the most part residents of Västmanland and their ages are from 23 to 53 years old.

So-called grooming was outlawed in Sweden on July 1st 2009 and anyone found guilty of the offence classified as "contact with a child with a sexual motive" can be sentenced to fines or up to a year in prison.

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19:42 February 3, 2013 by Logic_and_Reason
The blackmailing family is doing a service to society. They are, in essence, fining the perpetrator rather than the government. Had the government fined the sex-chat fella, that money would have been wasted on bureaucratic nonsense. At least in this situation, a family benefited. And their increased wealth helped the community in which they live.

On the other hand, vigilante justice is a questionable solution. And who is to say the family would not graduate to more heinous crimes? I guess this is why we are supposed to leave it up to the authorities to handle such things. But the authorities are overburdened and generally ineffective. Besides, why should members of the community not play an active role in finding such creeps and keeping them in check?

Lots of interesting questions to debate here...
08:04 February 4, 2013 by John.Smith
The hunter got hunted....
09:05 February 4, 2013 by Rey Stockholm
This is not about justice but extortion and greed from scum bags ( on both sides )

Any concerned parent would have gone to the police straight away
23:34 February 8, 2013 by spanca
Such criminals should be given examplary punishment . They are more than theives and hold upers
06:43 February 23, 2013 by Bill D.
This family exploited a poor old man's desire for love for financial gain. Shameful!
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