Intimidation or annoyance by violence or otherwise

Offence title:

Blackmail offence

Act:

249K Crimes Act (NSW)

Offence:

(1)   A person who makes any unwarranted demand with menaces:

(a)   with the intention of obtaining a gain or of causing a loss, or

(b)   with the intention of influencing the exercise of a public duty,

commits an offence.

(2)   A person commits an offence against (1) above by making, or threatening to make, an accusation that the other person has committed a serious indictable offence.

Penalty:

(1)   Imprisonment 10 years.

(2)   Imprisonment 14 years.

Summary/Indictable/mixed:

Mixed

Jurisdiction:

Local, District or Supreme Court.

How committed:

(1)   Person A and Person B where in an intimate relationship, during which A took intimate photographs of B. B ended the relationship. A has threatened to make the photographs available to B employer unless B pays A money. A is aware B would lose her job if the photographs are seen.

(2)   Person A and Person B where in an intimate relationship. A ended the relationship. B has threatened to post on social media that A engaged in sexual acts with children unless A pays B money.

Important note:

s.249L Unwarranted demands:

A demand with menaces is unwarranted unless the person believes that he or she has reasonable grounds for making the demand and reasonably believes that the use of the menaces is a proper means of reinforcing the demand. The demand need not be a demand for money or other property.

s.249M Menaces:

(1)   Menaces includes

(a)   an express or implied threat of any action detrimental or unpleasant to another person, and

(b)   a general threat of detrimental or unpleasant action that is implied because the person making the unwarranted demand holds a public office.

(2)   A threat against an individual is menacing if:

(a)   It would cause an individual of normal stability and courage to act unwillingly in response to the threat, or

(b)   It causes the particular individual to act unwillingly in response to the threat and the person who makes the threat is aware of the vulnerability of the individual to the threat.

(3)   A threat against a Government or body corporate is menacing if:

(a)   It would ordinarily cause an unwilling response, or

(b)   It would ordinarily cause an unwilling response because of a particular vulnerability the person is aware of.

(4)   It is immaterial whether the menaces relate to action to be taken by the person making the demand.

s.249N Obtaining gain or causing loss:

(a)   Gain means financial or material, temporary or permanent and includes retaining what a person has.

(b)   Obtaining [a gain] means obtaining a gain for the person or another.

(c)    Loss means financially or materially, temporary or permanent and includes disadvantage.

(d)   Causing [a loss] means causing a loss to another.

s.249O Public duty:

Public duty means a power, authority, duty or function that is conferred on a person as the holder of public office, or that a person holds out as having as the holder of public office.