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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Judge considering jail for extortionist
He tried to blackmail two British teachers who were tricked into sending him naughty pictures and videos through a dating website.
Now a Manitoba judge says she's having trouble with the proposed sentence for a Winnipeg man -- one that Crown and defence lawyers both agree should keep him out of jail.
Robert Li, 33, admitted earlier this year to one of the first cases of its kind ever exposed in the province. He returned to court Thursday, expecting to learn his fate. But the hearing was adjourned after Judge Carena Roller said she was considering putting Li behind bars.
Lawyers have now requested additional time to prepare further submissions, including a possible psychiatric report into Li's background. He remains free on bail, and a resolution of the matter isn't expected until early in the new year.
Li pleaded guilty to a rare charge of extortion by libel. The Crown is seeking a six-month conditional jail sentence, while Li has asked for a suspended sentence with probation.
The two victims don't know each other and didn't realize they were both being manipulated over a week-long period around the same time in September 2011, court was told. Li turned otherwise tame conversations sexual by sending faceless photos that purported to show him naked. He then encouraged the two women to do the same.
Li then used the naughty material as the basis for his threats, claiming he would reveal them to the victims' schools and colleagues if they didn't meet his financial demands.
He also spun an elaborate tale about his father being $150,000 in debt to Asian gangs who were after him if the payment couldn't be made quickly. In actuality, he was living in the basement of his parents' house, still smarting from being laid off at Investors Group. There was no gang debt, no angry mob after his family. Just a plot to make cash.
www.mikeoncrime.com
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition December 14, 2012 A16
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Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
7:14 PMAn Osborne Street chiropractor was found guilty today of raping and beating a former girlfriend.
Justice Colleen Suche handed down a ...
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