Man jailed for three years over Snapchat sextortion

A man who pleaded guilty to trying to blackmail 16 women into sending him sexual videos and images has been sentenced to more than three years in prison.

Christopher Morrow, 27, of Rochester Road in east Belfast, appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Monday facing 16 counts of blackmail.

The defendant admitted making unwarranted demands with menaces for sexual videos and images from 16 individual women.

The judge said Morrow sought "to inflict maximum distress on the victims".

One of his victims told BBC News NI that Morrow "thrived off me feeling shame and embarrassment".

Freya, which is not her real name, said: "He had so much control, every time I heard the Snapchat notification I threw up, it was a horrible time.

"He was aggressive and I was completely isolated."

Earlier in court, Judge Kerr sentenced Morrow to a total of three years and four months in jail.

He read out the details of each case of blackmail, including graphic details of the "customised sexual videos" that Morrow demanded from victims.

The court heard that Morrow met all of the women on Tinder, and then chatted to them on Snapchat where intimate images were initially shared on a consensual basis.

Having gleaned details of the women's lives from their conversations, sometimes lasting over a month, he would then threaten to share the sexual images he had with friends, family or work colleagues if they did not send him further, sometimes hardcore, pornographic videos and images.

Freya is one of three victims who have spoken to BBC News NI about their experiences with Morrow.

She said she met him on Tinder and that they chatted on Snapchat.

"He seemed nice, a normal guy, he was very convincing, showing me what I felt was genuine interest," she said.

He uploaded videos of someone Freya took to be Morrow.

"He asked for pictures and I sent him one selfie in a bra and that’s when he changed.

"He would message asking for really explicit pictures and videos. He threatened me by saying he would reach out to my family and tell them I was selling nudes and videos online."

She said he found her family members on social media.

"He threatened: 'You have five minutes before I send messages to your family." And when I didn’t reply he sent an alarm clock emoji and told me: 'Time’s running out.'

"I think the motivation for him was the thrill of the harassment, the control he had over me. He got a fix off the idea he was forcing women to do things."

Grace, not her real name, told BBC News NI she came into contact with him through Tinder.

"We talked for a while and everything was great. I thought I was learning stuff about him. Then it moved to Snapchat, after talking there for a while and building up trust," she added.

She said the threatening messages started after photos were exchanged.

"I didn’t want anyone else to find out. I thought I would have to deal with it myself until the police contacted me."

Grace said she felt self-conscious and embarrassed.

"I have trust issues with dating online now. I feel like I constantly have my guard up.

"I felt so angry with myself that I could let something like this happen to me.

“I think his motivation was to gain power and control. He wanted me to feel intimidated and almost scared of him."

Another woman, Sophie, also not her real name, said he started a countdown so she had a minute to send him what he wanted or everything would be sent to her family members.

"I was begging him not to do it and he had said all I needed to do was play along for five minutes and we would be done," she told BBC News NI.

"I honestly don’t understand how can anyone have the motivation to embarrass, to degrade, to blackmail a woman.

"This has impacted me so much I have lost trust in anyone. My mental health has taken such a dip with this with severe anxiety and depression.

"I want other women to know they shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about these kinds of crimes it to anyone."

Freya said she spoke out to raise awareness.

"I would say, you can’t be 100% sure you’re talking to the person in the picture or video, that’s the scary part."

At an earlier sentencing hearing Christopher Morrow's defence barrister told the judge that at the time of the offences his relationship was going through "emotional difficulties" and he "was not having a sexual life while his fiancée was pregnant".

He added that Morrow, who also pleaded guilty to possessing an extreme pornographic image, was "extremely remorseful".

Morrow, who sat with his eyes downcast throughout the hearing, had at first denied all the charges, but eventually admitted the blackmail.

The judge said Morrow had "no consideration for the consequences" of what he had done and had prioritised "his own needs and wellbeing over others".

The PSNI began to investigate in 2023 after several women made reports regarding a man named Joseph they had met on Tinder.

The profile picture that Morrow used to catfish the victims was actually the image of a man based in Cambridge.

Judge Kerr said the offending went "beyond mere sexual gratification".