Illawarra teenager Laughlin Clarke-Jeffries has confessed to soliciting naked pictures of an underage girl via social media then trying trying to use the images to blackmail her when she wouldn’t have sex with him.
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The 18-year-old, who is unemployed and lives with his parents in Albion Park, demanded the 15-year-old girl pay him up to $500 to delete the intimate pictures she’d sent him, which he had saved to his mobile phone without her knowledge.
Clarke-Jeffries was arrested in March after the distraught teen reported the extortion attempt to police.
He pleaded guilty to child procurement and blackmail charges on Wednesday following multiple court appearances, including one in which he unsuccessfully sought to have his identity suppressed amid claims his home had been targeted following media reports on his case.
Police documents tendered to the court reveal Clarke-Jeffries engaged in a course of predatory sexual behaviour towards the girl that began when they started messaging each other on Instagram, then later Snapchat, in September 2016.
The court heard Clarke-Jeffries continually asked to meet the girl for sex over the summer months, despite the fact she told him she was 15 and “not ready for that”.
“Would you let me take your virginity?” he asked at one stage, prompting the girl to respond “don’t you think I’m a bit young?”
“You’re 15, that’s not too young bub,” he replied.
The girl also sent Clarke-Jeffries multiple naked pictures of herself – at his request – but asked that he delete them immediately.
However, Clarke-Jeffries revealed in late February he still had the photos on his phone.
“Wanna know a way for me to get rid of the pics (sic) for good and leave you alone?” he told the girl.
“I need cash for rent and food so if you give me some money I’ll leave and delete the pics (sic).”
He then demanded different amounts of money up to $500. The girl said she would give him the money when she got paid the following day.
Instead, she went to Lake Illawarra Police Station to report the incident.
Investigating officers attended Clarke-Jeffries’ home later that day and seized his mobile phone, which was later found to contain messages that corroborated the victim’s story.
Clarke-Jeffries refused to be interview by police when arrested on March 24.
In court on Wednesday, Magistrate Brett Thomas continued Clarke-Jeffries’ bail, which includes conditions banning him from contacting the victim.
He will front Wollongong District Court on October 24 where a date will be set for sentencing.
