(ANSA) - Ferrara, September 30 - A man was arrested on
Thursday by Carabinieri police in Codigoro, near the northern
city of Ferrara, for alleged blackmailing his former girlfriend
with a video of them having sex.
The 37-year-old man used a fake Facebook profile he set up
of an non-existent woman to threaten to post the video online.
He had forced the victim to pay 10,000 euros since May.
But the police managed to catch him as they had marked the
banknotes used to pay the last instalment.
The case started in the spring when the victim consented
to sexual relations being filmed.
In May he told her that he was being blackmailed and asked
her to pay half of the amount to the non-existent woman of the
fake Facebook profile.
When the victim was unable to meet the rising demands for
money, she turned to a lawyer and prosecutors and the
Carabinieri began investigating.
The Carabinieri set up the trap and after the hand-over,
caught the man with the marked money in his pocket.
He confessed and now he is under house arrest.
The case follows that of an Italian woman who recently
committed suicide after a video of her having sex went viral on
the Internet.
It was posted without her consent and legal action to get
it removed from the Internet proved ineffective.
Man blackmailed ex with sex video
Former lover forced to pay 10,000 euros