Sex tape blackmail: Man threatened former partner with revealing video unless she cleared half of drug debt

A man who threatened to reveal an intimate video of a former partner to her friends and family unless she paid half of his £10,000 drug debt has received a 25-month prison sentence. Judge Patrick Lynch KC ordered Ryan Dolan, from Co Armagh, to serve half of this term in jail and the other half under supervised licence.

In handing out the sentence, the judge stressed the profound impact Dolan's actions had on the victim, leaving her "terrified of what you might do in the future". The judge also issued a five-year restraining order preventing Dolan from contacting the victim or mentioning her in any online posts.

Dolan, of Island View in Lurgan pleaded guilty to blackmail on August 4 last year, admitting he "made an unwarranted demand for money from the complainant with menaces".

Prosecution counsel Nicola Auret explained that Dolan and the victim had been in a "casual intimate relationship" before his imprisonment in February 2023. In August, Dolan contacted her demanding she pay half of his drug debt. Despite her refusal, she received threatening messages and calls from unknown numbers. One message even threatened to send people to her mother's house if she didn't pay up.

Ms Auret noted that the victim suspected Dolan was behind these threats to intimidate her into paying his debt. She also mentioned that during their relationship, they had recorded an intimate video with her consent. After Dolan's imprisonment, she had deleted the video from his phone before returning it to his mother, but she feared he had saved another copy.

Upon his release from prison, Dolan was arrested for the sextortion plot. Initially, he denied blackmail, claiming she owed him money from the sale of his car and withdrawals from his account. However, he later admitted to the charges.

Defence counsel David McKeown conceded at the beginning of his plea, in mitigation, that “his behaviour was reprehensible but he is not looking to excuse it”.

“He realises he should not have done it,” said the barrister, revealing that Dolan’s mother had cleared his drug debt. "This has been something of a wake-up call for the defendant…and he himself has taken steps in custody to become drug-free and achieve enhanced status,” he told the court.

Jailing Dolan, Judge Lynch said his offending has had a negative effect on his victim’s work, personal and social life and in imposing the restraining order, he warned him that if he was in breach of that “there’s a good chance that will encompass a further period of imprisonment”.