Police: Man blackmailed teens' parents

LEIDEN, Netherlands, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Dutch man was arrested for allegedly using information posted on the Internet by teenage girls to blackmail their parents, authorities say.

Police allege the 35-year-old Leiden, Netherlands, man collected information and photographs from the girls' postings on social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Hyves and used the materials to blackmail more than 30 parents, Radio Netherlands reported Wednesday.

The Dutch broadcaster said the man posed as a photographer, allegedly telling parents their daughters had performed sexual acts for the camera, even suggesting they had been raped by third parties. Police reportedly said the suspect demanded to be paid to refrain from uploading the alleged pornography to the Internet.

Public prosecutors told Radio Netherlands they intend to charge the man with blackmail and defamation.