Man jailed for blackmailing woman over intimate images

A man who extorted more then £8,000 from a vulnerable woman who had sent him intimate images has been jailed for two years.

Jordan McKeever, 27, from Glenview Drive in Limavady, County Londonderry, will serve another two years on supervised licence when he is freed from prison.

Antrim Crown Court was told that he had blackmailed the women he had met online, to fund a gambling habit.

Passing sentence, Judge Peter Irvine KC described McKeever’s actions as “despicable” and said blackmail, which “preys on the soul” of the victim, always warranted a deterrent sentence.

The judge said there was a high degree of planning in the “cruelty offending,” and described the offences as “a most despicable series of actions over this lengthy period of time”.

McKeever admitted that between January 2023 and April 2024 he made unwarranted demands for money “with menaces” from the woman “with a view to make a gain for himself”.

Prosecutor Mark Farrell told the court how a relative of the victim contacted police in April last year to report that she was being blackmailed.

She had met McKeever online in January 2023 after receiving a friend request from a man she did not know.

After about a month of online contact, McKeever asked the woman to send intimate images.

After being sent an image, McKeever then began demanding money, threatening to share the images with friends and colleagues.

The payments started small but escalated over time and between January 2023 and April 2024, the victim paid a total of £8,266.

Police identified McKeever through social media and bank records.

He initially gave “no comment” interviews but later made full admissions, telling officers he had created multiple online profiles to avoid detection and had asked for money to fund his gambling.

He denied that he would have actually shared the images.

Defence counsel Alan Stewart acknowledged the offence was “nasty, deliberate and exploitative” and said McKeever had shown remorse.

He also noted that McKeever’s partner was unaware of both the offending and his gambling problem, and that £1,000 could be transferred to the victim immediately.

Judge Irvine said McKeever’s culpability and the harm caused were high.

He noted that the sentence would have been six years, had McKeever not admitted his guilt early.

A four-year restraining order was also imposed on McKeever.