Man gets 14 years behind bars for ‘sextortion’
Subsequently, the victim’s sister discovered half-naked photos and a screenshot of the sex video on AAA’s Facebook page.
Daily TribuneSubsequently, the victim’s sister discovered half-naked photos and a screenshot of the sex video on AAA’s Facebook page.
The Supreme Court’s Second Division, in a decision penned by Associate Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier released recently, upheld the conviction of one Axel Tria for robbery with violence or intimidation.
Tria was sentenced to six to 14 years in prison for demanding money from his ex-girlfriend in exchange for deleting her nude photos that he posted on Facebook.
The court found that after their romantic relationship ended, Tria, driven by jealousy, threatened her with the release of their sex video.
Initially, the woman complied by giving Tria the password to her Facebook account, but he continued to intimidate her, showing her their sex video and nude photos.
Tria then demanded P55,000 from her, but when she refused, he hacked her business Facebook page, changing the username and password.
Subsequently, the victim’s sister discovered half-naked photos and a screenshot of the sex video on AAA’s Facebook page.
Tria uploaded the photo of a naked woman with AAA’s face superimposed and demanded P55,000 for their deletion. The woman offered P20,000, which Tria rejected, prompting the victim to report him to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Anti-Cybercrime Group.
Tria was arrested in an entrapment operation after accepting the money from the victim and was charged with robbery and online libel.
The Regional Trial Court convicted Tria of robbery but acquitted him of online libel due to insufficient evidence. The Court of Appeals affirmed the robbery conviction.
The Supreme Court stated that the elements of robbery under Article 249(5) of the Revised Penal Code were met: the unlawful taking of personal property with intent to gain, achieved through intimidation.
The woman was also coerced into parting with her money to mitigate the damage caused by the compromising photos, which affected her family, reputation, and online business.
