The bizarre case of online rapist Benjamin Ritchie
DERBY Crown Court. calls one Benjamin Ritchie, 35. He filmed himself having sex with a woman he met on Badoo dating site and used the tape to blackmail her.
He has pleaded guilty to rape and two counts of sexual assault.
Ritchie pretended to be a Russian woman called Marina.
Marina said her husband was a cheat who needed exposing. Marina asked the victim to go to her home and sleep with the cheat. She should also film the meeting. The victim, an engaged woman in her 20s, agreed. She went to Ritchie’s two-bedroomed home in Borrowash, Derbyshire. She met Richie. She liked him. The two began to hang out together. A short while later, Marina, now armed with the sex tape proof, told the the victim that she’d left her wayward husband.
Marina wanted to reward her online pal. She’d give her some cash. The victim agreed.
Marina then said they could not meet. She’d stolen the cash and been deported. Poor Marina had one favour to ask: the victim should go on dating the husband. She should report to her on his behaviour. Marina then told the victim that unless she did certain sexual things with Ritchie, she’d leak the sex tape.
The woman told Ritchie of Marina’s dastardly plot. He vowed to have Marina murderd. And he did. Marina was duly run down and killed by a lorry driver.
The victim was not overjoyed. She felt bad. She told a work colleague. The colleague smalled a rat. She told the victim to call the police.
Det Con Claudia Musson goes on the record:
“Ritchie preyed on a vulnerable young woman and deceived her at every turn. She was left deeply traumatised by what he did but she showed great courage in coming forward and speaking to police. Although seven years is a pleasing sentence, it doesn’t compensate for what he did. I just hope his victim can now try to move on with her life in the knowledge that he has been jailed. I would urge people to be careful when talking to people online. When forming relationships via the internet, you can easily be lulled into a false sense of security, which in turn can leave you very vulnerable.”
Such are the fac ts.
Posted: 8th, January 2013 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
