A Sundre man facing several charges over allegedly extorting a woman from Ontario online appeared in Didsbury provincial court on Monday, March 21.
Jeffrey Lance Hughes, 56, was charged with the following offences: extortion, distributing intimate images without consent, criminal harassment, voyeurism, two counts of unsafe storage of firearms, and two counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm, said police.
On Monday, Feb. 22 the RCMP received a report about a male who was attempting to extort money from an adult female in Ontario.
"The victim is the one who brought it forward to the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) and then they did their investigation and forwarded it to us," said the Sundre RCMP detachment's Cpl. Joe Mandel.
During the course of the investigation, police learned the two individuals had previously been involved in an intimate relationship. During the relationship, the male had surreptitiously video-recorded intimacy the couple had engaged in. At the conclusion of the relationship, Hughes allegedly blackmailed the victim and demanded money in exchange for keeping the videos private, officials said.
On Tuesday, March 8, members of the Sundre RCMP detachment executed a search warrant at the suspect's residence in Sundre.
Hughes' case has been adjourned until Monday, April 25.
