R v Budd & Smith – defendant sentenced to 7 years after blackmail trial prosecuted by James Hudson
In April 2022, Emily Smith lured her 68-year-old grandfather into sending her sexual messages which she then used to blackmail him with Jake Budd. Throughout April – June 2022, she threatened to post the messages on Facebook, tell his family, and tell the police unless he gave her money. She threatened to send her partner, Jake Budd, around to his address. Money was given to the Defendants on many occasions and the offending persisted despite involvement of the police. Emily Smith pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Blackmail.
Jake Budd denied Blackmail and said his attendance to the victim at their home address and a social club on two occasions was because he was only shown the sexual messages sent by the victim and was angry. He said he was not aware of the demands made by his girlfriend. He denied presence on other occasions and making demands for money with threats of violence.
The case presented challenges because there was no mobile phone evidence from Jake Budd communicating with the victim or Emily Smith and neither ever attended to the victim together. The plea of Emily Smith was not admissible at trial. It came down to the credibility of Jake Budd’s account and a forensic examination of the facts. Significant discrepancies in his account put forward at trial versus the defence case statement were explored in cross-examination, as were his previous convictions for theft offences, one of which occurred three days after an incident of blackmail.
Jake Budd was unanimously convicted by the jury and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
Emily Smith was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment.
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