Gay Beat Blackmailer Red Faced

Local News, By Joal, 13th August, 2008

A man who tried to blackmail a gay man and teach him a ‘lesson’, after watching him leaving a public toilet, has wound up red faced and with a much lighter wallet.

Fined $5000 by Victorian County Court Judge Geoff Chettle, 39 year-old father of one Justin Williams, attempted to justify blackmailing and verbally harrassing the man on his mobile by saying he was disturbed by what went on in the toilet block, and wanted to teach the “perverts” a lesson.

It seems gay men aren’t the only ones frequenting gay beats, but straight men wanting to extort money as well. Williams told the court he was in his car reading a paper outside the public toilet when he saw a man walk in with two others. Seeing a phone number on the side of the gay man’s work van, Williams waited for him to leave the toilet block, then called the number and demanded $1500, or Williams would ‘cause problems’.

Williams said he had photos of the victim leaving the toilet block as evidence, and told him to bring the money to Bacchas Marsh park on the outskirts of Melbourne. Instead the victim drove to the nearest police station and relayed events to police.

Police reports indicate Williams made a second call to his victim when he was still at the police station. The second call included threats of Williams ‘flogging’ the man if he didn’t pay the requested sum.

Defence lawyer Maitland Lincoln said Williams’ actions came out of his concern for innocent children who may have walked into the toilet. The threats will cost Williams $5,000 as the judge passed down his sentence yesterday, saying, “you took the law into your own hands and you can’t do that”.

The case closes as another in gay beat case continues in Sydney, concerning the death of 35 year old autistic man Gerard Fleming, after being stabbed in a Northern beaches toilet block in June last year.

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