BRENTWOOD, Pa., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania judge sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for blackmailing a woman over nude photos and using the images to entice others to send him pictures.
Russell Freed, 44, of Brentwood, Pa., came across nude photos on the young female victim's cellphone. He anonymously blackmailed the woman demanding more naked photos of her, threatening to send the photos to her family and friends. Then, posing as the woman online, Freed sent the images to the woman's high school-age friends to entice them to send similar pictures back, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Monday.
The woman even confided in Freed, who she did not know was the man behind the blackmailing at the time, she was so upset she had considered suicide. Freed, the judge said, still encouraged her to go along with the blackmailer's demands.
"You advised her to comply with the person's demands -- your demands," U.S. District Judge Terrence McVerry said to Freed at his sentencing.
Defense lawyers argued Freed has a psychological disorder brought on by self-image problems and argued for leniency.
Commenting on the extortion element, McVerry said, "That element of sadism can't be overlooked in this case."
