This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-33691476
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Heiress Haley Meijer £2m porn blackmail: Man jailed | Heiress Haley Meijer £2m porn blackmail: Man jailed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man has been jailed for 12 years after trying to blackmail US heiress Haley Meijer out of £2m ($3.1m). | |
| James Casbolt, from St Ives in Cornwall, previously admitted blackmail and stalking the hypermarket heiress as well as harassing two other women. | |
| Casbolt, 38, the former husband of Miss Meijer, repeatedly posted pornographic images of her online and demanded cash. | Casbolt, 38, the former husband of Miss Meijer, repeatedly posted pornographic images of her online and demanded cash. |
| At Truro Crown Court, the judge said Casbolt had "depraved and distorted" values and an "evil" motive. | At Truro Crown Court, the judge said Casbolt had "depraved and distorted" values and an "evil" motive. |
| The court heard Casbolt became friends with Miss Meijer on Facebook and they met in person in May 2010. | The court heard Casbolt became friends with Miss Meijer on Facebook and they met in person in May 2010. |
| They married in September 2011 and moved to Michigan in the US where Casbolt joined the US Army. | They married in September 2011 and moved to Michigan in the US where Casbolt joined the US Army. |
| When he was posted to an army base in Texas he asked Miss Meijer for sexually explicit photographs and videos which she reluctantly gave him. | When he was posted to an army base in Texas he asked Miss Meijer for sexually explicit photographs and videos which she reluctantly gave him. |
| But when the couple split in June 2013 Casbolt posted sexually explicit images of her on Facebook and on a pornographic website and demanded millions of dollars. | But when the couple split in June 2013 Casbolt posted sexually explicit images of her on Facebook and on a pornographic website and demanded millions of dollars. |
| He also made "unrelenting" threats towards Miss Meijer and her relatives. | |
| Judge Christopher Harvey Clark told Casbolt: "I regard you as a dangerous man who is capable of using modern means of communication in a sinister and destructive way." | |
| 'Terrified and humiliated' | |
| Casbolt had been remanded in a mental health unit but an expert report said he was not suffering from a mental disorder. | |
| The judge said: "The circumstances of this offence reveal a highly intelligent and calculating criminal mind. Your motives were, to put it bluntly, evil." | |
| He said Casbolt's actions "intimidated, terrified and humiliated" Miss Meijer and his mind was "obsessed with peculiar and distorted conspiracy theories". | |
| "To adapt the celebrated phrase used about Lord Byron, you were not mad but you were bad and very dangerous to know for these women unfortunate enough to encounter you," the judge said. | |
| The court heard Casbolt also harassed Simone Everett and surfing champion Anastasia Swallow when back in St Ives. | |
| He was sentenced to five years for blackmail and a further four years with one year on licence for stalking Miss Meijer. | |
| He was given a further three years for harassing Ms Everett and one year concurrent for harassing Ms Swallow, making a total of 12 years. | |
| Ms Meijer's father, Hank, is chief executive of American hypermarket chain Meijer, a company worth $9.5bn (£6.1bn) according to business analysts Forbes. | Ms Meijer's father, Hank, is chief executive of American hypermarket chain Meijer, a company worth $9.5bn (£6.1bn) according to business analysts Forbes. |
| Meijer: A business profile | |