Crown Court: Dungiven woman blackmailed man she was having affair with and sent private images to his partner

A County Derry woman was today sentenced after being convicted of blackmailing a man with whom she had been having an affair with.

Debbie Southern, of Main Street in Dungiven, also sent private sexual photographs the man had sent her to his partner in a bid to expose their affair.

Antrim Crown Court heard today that the victim paid 55 year-old Southern two separate amounts of money totalling £3,500, which have since been paid back.

The affair began during lockdown in 2020 and in January 2021, the defendant asked the victim for £5,000 repeating a previous threat she would tell his partner about the affair and forward private images to her.

The victim knew this capability was within the defendant's power because he had sent her those images via Instagram, the court heard.

The victim feared that the disclosures that were threatened would 'devastate' his relationship and the family unit.

He was able to take £2,500 cash from his business but couldn't withdraw £5,000 without alerting his partner that there was some 'irregularity' in his activity.

The victim paid £2,500 to the defendant but he declined to get a loan from the Credit Union because his partner would have been alerted to his activity.

At this point, the victim cut off all contact with Southern but she maintained contact by sending abusive messages.

The defendant also formed a friendship with the victim's mother and disclosed the affair to her.

She claimed she got to know the victim's mother through speaking to her at the local bus stop and she would often invite her in for a cup of tea.

This led to Southern inviting the victim's mother around for dinner and also doing other errands for her.

She said she stopped taking the woman's calls in May 2021 as the victim did not like his mother and the defendant being friends.

She said she didn't want to cause a 'rift' so she cut off contact.

A 'chance encounter' between the defendant and the victim on  May 8 2021 'triggered a Facebook messenger request' from Southern asking the victim's partner to contact her.

When she did not receive a response after three hours, Southern sent a series of messages, including images of the victim with the message 'well, maybe these will get you to talk to me?'

The victim's partner asked Southern on May 13 2021 if her Facebook account had been 'hacked'.  Subsquently the two women exchanged around 30 messages before speaking by telephone where the defendant told the victim's partner about the affair.  The following day, the victim reported the offences to police.

The victim's partner stated that all of this had been 'devastating' for her and had 'massive implications' for her relationship.

The victim made a victim impact statement in which he said it had been a 'traumatic and harrowing experience'. He expressed 'deep regret for what had happened' and recognised that he had been partly responsible for bringing such heartbreak to his relationship.  He said his partner 'didn't deserve this' adding that she had found it both 'distressing and very painful' adding that what had happened had 'blown her world apart'.

When Southern was initially arrested and interviewed under caution on May 15 2021, she stated that a relationship began when the victim 'pursued' her.  She described how their relationship had become sexual and she characterised it as 'friends with benefits' but everything was 'under the radar' as she knew the victim had a partner.

She claimed the victim had given her £2,500 for her birthday and Christmas and she had paid £1,900 of this into the Credit Union.  She said the victim told her the money was for a ticket to see her daughter in New Zealand because she hadn't seen her in four years.

She told the police that she had printed off some of the private pictures he had sent to her as she was minded to give it to his partner.

She said the victim's mother had told her he was going to get married to his partner and she wanted to clear her conscience and speak to his partner.

She asked the victim about the engagement and when he confirmed that he was to get married she said it left her 'broken hearted'.

She said she only sent the images to the victim's partner as she couldn't get her attention any other way.

Southern was interviewed a second time and at that point she claimed when the relationship ended the victim said he would give her money to help her get to New Zealand – she claimed half the money would be a loan and the other half a gift.

According to her the victim then claimed she had blackmailed him.

She said when she met the victim in the street he would smile at her when he was with his partner and she wanted to 'hurt him back'.

She also claimed at the time she had been mixing strong medication with alcohol and couldn't remember what she had said to the victim.

The court heard that Southern 'may be a figure of ridicule or fun' in the area in which she has been living for a number of years and from which she now seeks to be rehoused.

During sentencing, the judge said the defendant's actions had passed the custody threshold and that a sentence of 20 months in prison was an appropriate one.

However, the judge said she would not impose an immediate custodial sentence to allow Southern to address the many issues she faces, including poor mental health.

Southern was sentenced to a combination order of 60 hours community service and will be subject to probation supervision for the next three years.

Southern was also ordered to pay compensation of £750 to the victim and will be the subject of a restraining order in respect of the victim and his partner for the next five years.