A blackmailer who targeted vulnerable victims for an elaborate sex plot was caught because his DNA was discovered on a handwritten ransom demand.
Victims were lured into Kevin Proctor's callous scheme after being randomly sent photographs of a young women who claimed she needed help. When the victims were duped into exchanging explicit photographs with "Stephanie Dunn" they were then hit with a ransom demand from a mystery man.
Proctor - posing as "Barry" - left his victims terrified and one paid out a four-figure sum to buy his silence rather than report them to the police. On Tuesday, the unemployed 41-year-old admitted extorting £1,200 from one victim by putting him in a state of fear or alarm from December 1 2020 to January 19 2021.
He admitted threatening to disclose his communications with "Stephanie Dunn". Proctor, Rattray Street, Monifieth, also admitted trying to extort £1,000 from another man using the same scheme between October 20 and November 11 2020.
Fiscal depute Stewart Duncan told Dundee Sheriff Court that the first victim suffered from chronic anxiety, epilepsy, depression and had a pacemaker fitted.
"He received a message from a Facebook account named Stephanie Dunn. From her picture, he estimated her to be a female aged 20 or 21. The account told him she was not being looked after properly and was not getting food or clothing," Mr Duncan said. "She said she wanted him to look after her.
"She stated she wanted to be with him and he was sent a topless photo. The complainer sent back a photo of his naked genitals. She stated she wanted to come to his address. The complainer did not want this to happen. She said she knew how to please a man."
Another, more graphic image of a female was sent to the man, and he responded by sending back another explicit image.
"She stated she had been without food for two days. He then told her his home address as he felt sorry for her."
When he discovered "Stephanie Dunn" was 15 through a Facebook page drawn to his attention, he stopped contacting her within a day. But he was then sent a message by Proctor - posing as Stephanie's step-brother Barry - and demanding £1,000 cash in instalments.
Proctor told the victim he had all of the photos and messages which had been exchanged and would take them to the police if the ransom money was not paid.
The victim then found a handwritten note at his door which warned him about the consequences of failing to pay the £1,000 blackmail demand. A friend of the victim then contacted "Barry" to offer to pay the money - and they were provided with a bank account in the name Kevin Proctor.
"No money was sent to the accused in this charge," Mr Duncan said. "The handwritten letter was checked and found to have the accused's fingerprints on it."
As part of the investigation, officers discovered further suspicious payments in Proctor's bank account, and that led them to his second victim. This victim had paid Proctor £1,200 in just over a month after he threatened to expose the communication between the complainer and 'Stephanie Dunn'.
The court was told that Stephanie Dunn was fictitious and was not known to be a real person involved in the blackmail plot.
Sheriff Robert More deferred sentence for the preparation of background reports and Proctor was released on bail. The sheriff said: "You pled guilty to two serious crimes made worse by the aggravation. I take account of the degree of pre-meditation involved. All sentencing options remain open to the court."
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
