Blackmailer in prostitute scam jailed for a year
Reporter: Court reporter
Date published: 23 August 2010
A FORMER Chadderton man who went on the run to escape a blackmail charge has been sentenced to more time in prison.
Gareth Edward Robins (32), of no fixed address, admitting joining forces with a call girl to extort cash from one of her clients.
The blackmailer lied to the man that the prostitute was 15 and threatened to tell his employers unless he handed over cash.
Robins then tried to escape justice by fleeing to the Costa del Sol — but ended up in a Spanish jail after being convicted of robbery in Malaga. After serving 21/2 years in Spain, Robins returned to Britain to face the blackmail charge and separate charges of wounding and robbery.
Manchester Crown Court heard that the blackmail victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, booked prostitutes at his Didsbury home through an escort agency.
In July, 2005, the victim heard a knock at the door and was greeted by his regular girl, a 24-year-old who worked under the name Tia. Robins, accompanied by a woman, then turned up at the man’s home and challenged the victim.
He threatened to tell the man’s employers and falsely claimed that Tia was 15, pregnant and in need of hospital treatment, Mr Philip Dobson, prosecuting, told the court.
The two extorted £400 from the man, who later decided to call the police, reasoning they would never leave him alone.
The prostitute, named in court as Claire Ruddick (30), and formerly of Heaton Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport, was sentenced in 2006 to 10 months in prison for blackmail, but Robins failed to appear at court and went on the run.
He returned to Britain in March this year and was jailed for seven years for robbery and wounding. He was produced from prison to be sentenced for blackmail.
Judge Martin Rudland ordered Robins to serve an extra year for the “mean and unpleasant” offence.
The judge said he would have imposed a longer sentence if Robins had not already been serving a substantial jail term.
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