An NHS phlebotomist has been jailed for blackmailing his gay Grindr matches by sending embarrassing naked pictures of them to friends and family.
Patryk Hrymak, 27, demanded cash after exchanging nude images with his eight victims during online chats and followed through with his threats in relation to two of them.
The victims include a banking auditor; a private bank’s IT boss; a university admissions officer; a project manager and a couple of student nurses.
Hrymak, of Norbury Crescent, Norbury pleaded guilty to eight counts of blackmail, plus two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs, with intent to cause distress, between November 4 and 12, last year.
Jailing him for two years and four months Croydon Crown Court Judge Deborah Charles told tearful Hrymak today: “You contacted these victims on Grindr and sent naked photographs of yourself to build up rapport.
“You encouraged them to send naked pictures of themselves to you and blackmailed them by threatening to send the pictures to their family and friends.”
Using the alias ‘Thomas’ Hrymak continued communicating with the men via Facebook, Instagram and other social media, giving him access to their contacts.
“He would ask to borrow small amounts, of money, thirty, forty or fifty pounds, which they all refused and then threatened to pass on the naked photos he obtained,” said prosecutor Shekinah Anson.
“To back this up he sent screenshots to prove he still had the images, plus screenshots of the victims’ online contacts.”
Hrymak met and had sex with the banking auditor, who gave him £20, but refused any more when blackmailed. He said the “traumatic” episode left him “scared and afraid.”
The IT boss suffered panic attacks as a result and says he felt “sick to my stomach” and “nauseous” at having naked pictures sent to two female friends, describing the ordeal as being “cyber raped.”
The openly gay project manager said the blackmail was an attempt at a return to the attitudes of the 1950’s when shame of sexuality could be exploited.
One victim did transfer £110 to Hrymak. “He paid that out of fear these pictures would be sent to family and friends,” added Ms Anson.
“He is ashamed of his actions,” said Chris Johnston, defending, adding Hrymak, a respected employee at Croydon University Hospital, fell into £7,500 debt financing an expensive cannabis habit.
“He was not motivated by desire to ‘out’ these people, but just to send the naked images.”
Judge Charles told the first-time offender: “This has had a significant impact on your victims and blackmail is regarded as a nasty offence.
“As a man who says he was bullied over his sexuality as a youth you were well-placed to appreciate the consequences of gay men being ‘outed’ when it was not something they wanted to do.”
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