Greengrocer tells police of sex-for-debt blackmail

Two sisters and the 17-year-old daughter of one of them were yesterday charged with blackmailing a greengrocer when they allegedly photographed him naked after one of them lured him to her bedroom with the promise of sex.

The sex was meant to be payment in kind to write off a debt of €600, which a woman aged 38 had with him, sources said. Eventually, however, he ended up being allegedly extorted of €15,300.

The 60-year-old greengrocer is known to have told the police that he had accepted to be paid in kind, a date was set and the two met. Unbeknown to him, however, two other women were hiding in the room. The 38-year-old instructed them to photograph him the minute he undressed. They did so with both a camera and a mobile phone, according to the sources.

The sexual encounter never took place and he left.

On October 31, the greengrocer told the police, the 38-year-old woman allegedly approached him and showed him the photo on the mobile phone telling him that, if he did not pay up, the photo would end up in his wife's possession. He said he paid the money and they destroyed the phone in his presence.

But the story did not end there. On November 11, they reportedly took a print of the photograph they had taken with the camera and repeated the threat. By the time the photo was destroyed he had paid them €15,300, the victim claimed.

Yet, they were still not happy, the greengrocer reported, and tried to extort more money two days ago. They knocked on his front door and, fearing the worst, he said he called his son and told him there were people following him.

The police were called in and arrested the alleged blackmailers who denied knowing the man.

The police became suspicious and began investigating the incident. The man was called in for questioning and recounted his story to the officers. Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera granted the accused bail against a personal guarantee of €2,000 each for the two women and €1,000 for the teenager. All three are pleading not guilty.

Their names or that of the man cannot be named by court order.

Police Inspector Fabian Fleri prosecuted while lawyer Michael Sciriha appeared for the accused.

Lawyer Joanne Vella Cuschieri appeared parte civile.