A Sundre man is to appear in Didsbury provincial court on March 21 on charges related to an online extortion investigation involving an Ontario woman he allegedly secretly videotaped engaging in intimate acts.
Last week, police charged Jeffrey Lance Hughes, 56, with 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.
On Monday, Feb. 22, 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 say they learned the two individuals had previously been involved in an intimate relationship.
During the relationship, it's alleged the male had surreptitiously video-recorded intimacy the couple had engaged in. At the conclusion of the relationship, the male allegedly blackmailed the victim and demanded money in exchange for keeping the videos private, police say.
The revenge porn law is relatively new and was introduced to address the issue of angry, vengeful individuals who attempt to extort former relationship partners with certain demands ó usually money ó to keep intimate images private.
"This is the first time I've been involved with this type of charge," said Mandel.
On Tuesday, March 8 members of the Sundre RCMP detachment executed a search warrant at the suspect's residence in Sundre.
"He cooperated fully," said Mandel, adding police seized for evidence his electronic equipment including a computer.
Hughes was released from custody shortly after his arrest.
