A CO Tyrone man who who posed online as a 15-year-old girl to blackmail a married man has been jailed in Scotland for 25 months.
Patrick Rodgers (25), from Dromore, set up a fake Facebook profile and had sexual conversations with the father-of-four before threatening to expose him as a paedophile.
Perth Sheriff Court heard that the man was so fearful, he paid Rodgers £300.
Rodgers previously admitted a charge of extortion.
Following his arrest, he admitted being in financial difficulties, the court heard.
He told officers: "I was needing the cash. The money has been spent.
"I was pretending to be a 15-year-old girl."
Rodgers admitted to speaking to the man on social media with the intention of menacing him between July 13 and 16 2014.
He also admitted making threats and extorting £300 from him.
Defence solicitor Linda Clark said: "He was in a relationship in this area, money was short, and between himself and his then partner they came up with this idea of setting up a profile on social media.
"The complainer was in a relationship and had four children and did not want the information to be made available to his partner, so he went along with the demands from Mr Rodgers."
Sheriff Gillian Wade said: "There is no alternative to a custodial sentence. Both charges would merit that on their own."
