August 18, 2010 | Sex & Society

Teen guilty of extorting thousands from gay men

Kelz Sutherland, 19, was found guilty of extortion last week. He was part of a gang in the UK who targeted gay men on phone chatlines, convincing guys to talk about underage sex, and then revealing that said conversation was being recorded. A chatline monitor would interrupt the conversation and offer to delete the recording if a substantial amount of money was paid.

One man finally went to police about the threat, exposing the group.

In Sutherland's home police found men's phone numbers and addresses, and the bank account information for various victims. In total, Sutherland admitted to taking over $150,000.

And though the young man pleaded guilty, he showed no remorse. During his hearing he shouted: "They are the pedophiles. These men say they are victims, why did they give me the money in the first place? Why is it me that's sitting here and not them?"

What ever happened to working at McDonald's for extra spending money?

Edinburgh teenager guilty of extorting £87,000 in chatline sting [Pink News]