Australian Man Charged After Threatening Blackmail
An Australian man was arrested for trying to blackmail a gay man and threatening to out him.
34-year-old Melbourne resident Timothy Ruge came out of the Melbourne Magistrates Court earlier today after having defended himself in court.
Ruge is being charged with allegedly demanding 1,300 Australian Dollars (or $977.63 US Dollars) from a man he’d met on a gay dating app. Ruge allegedly threatened to out the closeted man to someone else in March if he didn’t receive the money.
In addition, Closed-Circuit Television (otherwise known as CCTV) caught footage of Timothy Ruge waiting at the predetermined spot, the Southern Cross train station, for the gay man to drop off the money.
The man, who’s identity is being withheld by the court, later filed a suit in order to punish Ruge.
Sadly, this is a story we’ve heard many times before where a man is being threatened to be outed by someone he met online.
“Unfortunately, episodes of blackmailing are still far too common, especially in countries where the State itself seems to encourage human rights violations with laws that criminalize consensual sexual behaviour,” an International Lesbian and Gay Association spokesperson said to PinkNews.
Again, the first hearing has just ended and Ruge came out saying that it involved “unfortunate circumstances,” according to AAP.
Ruge is expected to return to court on July 23, and this time he says he’ll get a lawyer.
