The aunty was told to drop the money in a park bin in exchange for his release
A teenager faked his own kidnap by sending a video of himself tied to a chair with a Sainsbury’s bag for life over his head to blackmail his girlfriend’s aunty out just £150, a court heard.
Paul Butcher was heard begging for help in the background of bizarre calls made to his girlfriend’s aunty as his accomplice told her to drop money in a park bin in exchange for his release.
The 19-year-old concocted the scheme after she refused to hand over his girlfriend’s bank card, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Prosecutor Chris Moran said Butcher asked the woman, who has not been identified, for the card in the early hours of August 5.
The aunty agreed to give him £20, but wanted change.
She accompanied him to Dewsbury Road in Beeston, Leeds, at around 3.30am.
He told her to wait but he never returned, the court was told.
When she got home, the woman received a call at 5am from an unknown number and could hear Butcher in the background.
He told her he’d been kidnapped and they wanted £50 to be left in the bin in Beeston and she had 10 minutes to make the drop.
The woman dropped the cash off and returned home, but got another call at 7.25am telling her they didn’t find it and she needed to pay another £100.
They told her to check her Facebook messages where she found a video of Butcher with the Sainsbury’s bag-for-life over his head and struggling in a chair.
After the frantic woman contacted another family member for help, they called the police.
The supposed kidnappers had told her to drop the £100 in a cigarette box in a bin at Cross Flatts Park in Beeston. But when cops lay in wait for the kidnappers, they caught Butcher himself approaching the bin after the drop was made.
Butcher, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, gave no comments during his police interview, the court heard.
Held on remand in HMP Doncaster after he failed to attend court for an earlier hearing because he mixed up the dates, Butcher admitted a charge of blackmail.
In mitigation, Robin Frieze described the episode as having “bizarre features”, but said that Butcher had no previous convictions.
He said that being on remand had “done him a world of good”, adding: “There was no doubt he was leading a dangerous lifestyle.
“He was taking drugs but has managed to come off them completely.
“He is really sorry to his aunty, whom he loves. Now he is able to think clearly, he is devastated to have caused the distress he did. He appreciates how frightening it was for her.”
Judge Penelope Belcher sentenced Butcher to nine months jail, but was persuaded to suspend the sentence.
She told him: “This was nasty and mean offending, causing immense distress to family members.
“They thought it was genuine. What is clear is there’s a severe history of drug misuse.”
She criticised Butcher for failing to disclose who else was “plainly” involved, including whoever made the call to demand the cash and whoever filmed him pretending to be tied to the chair.
She ordered Butcher to complete a six-month drug rehabilitation requirement and gave him a restraining order.
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