A thug, who had built up a serious gambling problem, blackmailed a worried young woman by threatening to post explicit images of her on Facebook unless she handed over money.
Serial burglar Daniel Ogrodnik, 31, hacked into the woman's social media accounts, including Instagram, and discovered the snaps after stealing a mobile phone and other possessions during a raid at her home.
He targeted multiple households in a series of burglaries in one area and even raided a house where he had one lived, Hull Crown Court heard.
Ogrodnik, of Hull, admitted to four offences of burglary, one of blackmail, two of fraud and another of possessing amphetamine, Hull Live reports.
Prosecutor, Charlotte Baines, said that Ogrodnik broke into a house of multiple occupancy in Hull in July 2020 and stole items from three victims, including a laptop, wallet, rucksack, mobile phone and a purse. His fingerprints were left on a window.
A woman later found that her social media accounts, including Instagram, had been hacked. A female friend of hers later received a message, supposedly from the woman, asking for money because she was in trouble as explicit photographs of her might be released.
One of the messages included details of a bank account for the money to be paid into. It was traced to Ogrodnik. She realised that he had gained access to her contacts and pictures, some of them explicit.
"She was told that they had her Facebook details and they would be shared if she didn't pay," said Miss Baines. "Blackmail is always an unpleasant offence for the victim."
Ogrodnik also raided another house in Sharp Street on November 25, 2020 and stole items from downstairs rooms, including a games console, a necklace, an iPod and bank cards. He tried to use a card to place an online bet with a bookmakers. He also burgled another house in Sharp Street on April 25 last year and stole items including a laptop.
The owner received a message asking for him to send £37 to a bank account and realised that his laptop had been stolen. Ogrodnik was traced via an app that pinged and he was found at nearby premises in Washington Street, where stolen property was recovered.
Ogrodnik was on bail when he burgled a ground-floor flat in Lambert Street on November 8 but his movements were recorded on a camera phone that he stole. Police later found him.
Ogrodnik had a "catalogue of dishonesty" offences in Poland, including six for fraud, two for burglary and one for theft between 2009 and 2019. Steven Garth, mitigating, said that Ogrodnik came to this country from Poland in early 2020 to find work and send money home to his partner and two children but started taking drugs, mainly amphetamine and cannabis.
"This took over his life and he was almost constantly in a state of intoxication," said Mr Garth. "He needed money to fund his addiction. By the summer of 2020, he had developed a serious gambling problem.
"The burglaries were all committed to gain money. They were all committed when he was under the influence of drugs, barely in control of himself and when his thinking was impaired.
"The blackmail offence was the idea of one of his friends. The idea was to get £100 and split the money 50-50. Blackmail is clearly a very unpleasant and serious offence and, as with all of his offending, he now bitterly regrets what he did. It has been a sorry chapter in this young man's life."
Judge John Thackray QC told Ogrodnik: "You are a career criminal with serious criminality upon your record. You were targeting houses in the same area. Some people never recover from having their homes burgled.
"Blackmail is an ugly and vicious crime. In connection with one of your victims, you threatened to reveal explicit photographs. Your offending has had a profound effect upon your victims.
"Sentimental items have been lost. One victim is struggling to sleep. The victim of the blackmail is shaken and frightened. One victim has lost hours and hours of university work.
"You were targeting houses of multiple occupancy because of their vulnerability. They are vulnerable because it's more difficult to have adequate security."
Ogrodnik was jailed for six years.
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