Victims of prolific online sex blackmailer detail how he wrecked their lives

Eight victims of a prolific online sex blackmailer have faced him in court to read out impact statements, with one saying: “He doesn’t have any control over me any more. I want him to feel the fullest force of the law.”

Anthony Burns is facing a two-day sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court, having admitted more than 40 charges, including 26 counts of blackmail, six relating to indecent images of children and two of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

The 39-year-old used dating and so-called sugar daddy sites to identify victims, having learned online blackmail techniques from Abdul Elahi, who was jailed for 32 years in 2021 after targeting around 2,000 people globally.

Addressing the court on Thursday, prosecutor Kate Temple-Mabe said Burns, originally from Lowestoft in Suffolk, has previous convictions for child-related sexual offences dating back to 2010.

The conviction in 2010 involved sexual grooming of a 14-year-old schoolgirl when Burns was aged 25, while a later offence saw him sentenced for inciting child prostitution.

Ms Temple-Mabe told Judge Sarah Buckingham that Burns had a perverse interest in sexual activity, including with animals, and demanded sexual videos from victims after tricking them into sending their personal and social media details and addresses.

Describing Burns’ offending in 2018, 2019 and 2020 against victims in the USA, UK and Australia, Ms Temple-Mabe told the court: “Behind every communication was a desire to force women to perform sexually degrading acts online, which he would screenshot.”

The carefully thought-out process of the blackmail offences, including threats to post videos and images online or contact family members, “terrified victims into meeting his demands”, the court heard.

The first of eight women who read out victim personal statements told the court she feared that Burns was capable of visiting her house, and might sexually attack her or even murder her.

The businesswoman, who cannot be identified, said: “I could not stop thinking about it. Everything I had planned was tainted.”

Turning to face Burns in the glass-fronted dock, the woman, who read her statement from the witness box, added: “He doesn’t have any control over me any more.

“I don’t care about him.

“I want him to feel the fullest force of the law. He needs to be punished for what he did.”

Seven other women attended court to read their statements in person, with some saying they had considered taking their own lives or taken overdoses, and others telling how they had struggled to breathe due to the shock of threats and the “mental torture” perpetrated by Burns.

Another woman told the judge she no longer felt safe in her home and had fallen victim to Burns while struggling financially.

She ended her statement by saying: “It’s not an understatement to say that this incident has ruined my life.”

Another complainant, who suffered crippling panic attacks after being targeted while looking for a partner on a dating site, said: “The person I began to communicate with was Anthony Burns.

“He blackmailed me to produce this disgusting video. I felt physically sick. It was a vicious cycle I could not break.”

Burns, two of whose blackmail offences involved Elahi as an online accomplice, was also the subject of a sexual harm prevention order imposed for previous offences, the court heard.

Offering mitigation, defence barrister Hugh Forgan said Burns, who was addicted to pornography, had experienced traumatic events earlier in his life, including the death of a partner in a car crash.

Seeking to distinguish Burns’ offending from that of Elahi, Mr Forgan said: “These images (obtained by blackmail by Burns) were not being sold on or distributed.

“It wasn’t a business, no matter how distressing or depraved.”

Burns has been warned he will receive a “significant” jail term when he is sentenced on Friday.

Judge Buckingham said that Burns will be sentenced for the offences on the indictment and not for his contact with other unknown blackmail victims who were never identified.