Blackmail letter in full

A policeman has been convicted of trying to blackmail sex offenders and extort money from other criminals.

The court was read one of the letters, which was written to a sex offender who was referred to in court as "A".

Hello there "A". Hope you are well. May I introduce myself first. I am here to solve a problem of yours. I have photographs and details of your history with regards to sexual offences.

I'm sure I don't need to say any more in detail. I'm sure that these recent pictures outside your home and details I have been given are of interest to you and you would not want them to be known to neighbours and the community, let alone employers and those you deal with on a day to day basis.

What about your family and how they will be associated with this. How will people treat them?

Who knows how the local will react to information such as that? It's probably in your best interests to get in touch.

All I ask is for the reasonable sum of £31,000 in cash for my understanding silence and for yourself to give the photographs and the memory cards they are on along with all the files which have been complied on yourself.

As to how you arrange matters it's not of interest to us financially or other matters.

We only require one phone call for you to confirm your accept this and another to arrange the pick up of the cash.

Any attempt to prolong calls will be seen as a rejection of our offer or any attempt to contact police will likewise be seen as a rejection.

A resolution is required by the end of July. It has been a pleasure to meet you.

He then went on to give a mobile phone number. This phone was found on him when he was arrested.