Former escort who blackmailed an engaged man he met on gay dating app Grindr claims he was on a ‘crusade’ to stop cheaters and drive down divorce rates
- Timothy Ruge, 35, blackmailed an engaged man on gay dating app Grindr
- He stalked victim on social media and found photos of the man with his fiance
- The former escort then threatened to out him unless he transferred $1,300
- Judge has scolded ‘extremely serious’ crime and has told him to prepare for jail
A former escort who blackmailed an engaged man out of hundreds of dollars told a court he was on a ‘crusade’ to stop cheaters.
Timothy Ruge, 35, attempted to scam $1,300 from the victim after he met him on gay dating app Grindr.
After matching with the man, who was engaged to a woman, Ruge sent him frightening texts and threatened to ‘out him’ to his fiance in March 2018.
The former drag queen, who appeared in Victorian Country Court in Melbourne is on Thursday, pleaded guilty making an unwarranted demand for money with menace.
Timothy Ruge, 35, attempted to scam $1,300 from the man after he stalked him on social media and threatened to ‘out him’ in March 2018
Ruge sent a series of threatening messages threatening to ‘out’ him to his fiance unless he paid him
The victim – whose name is currently protected by suppression order – stated that he was on Grindr to ‘chat and flirt’ in early March 2018 when he came across Ruge’s profile and sent a photo of himself.
Ruge then replied with a photo of the man’s fiancée, saying: ‘She’s pretty, you cheating b*****d’.
He then sent a series of messages threatening to ‘out’ him to his fiancé.
After the victim apologised, Ruge went on to demand cash to keep his mouth shut, writing: ‘Cardless cash me $500 now, then $500 in 30 mins ARE WE CLEAR’, followed by ‘And I vanish’, the documents claimed.
‘She (my partner) handles all my money’, the victim told Ruge, who responded, ‘but ‘tick tock I’ll ask her for it then shall I. Tick tock’, court documents said.
The victim attempted to transfer $200 but said his system ‘kept crashing’ so agreed to meet at Southern Cross Station in the city on March 2 to hand over the cash.
Ruge then continued to intimidate the victim, asking him for a further $1000 and leaving him several ‘menacing’ voice mails prosecutor Hayley Bate told the court.
He contacted police following the second request for money, and Ruge was arrested on May 3 after officers searched his apartment.
Ruge (pictured) was arrested on May 3 after officers searched his apartment and pleaded guilty for trying to scam the victim
Ruge’s lawyer argued against a prison sentence as his client had not been in trouble with the law before and had entered an early guilty plea.
Judge Hannan rejected these suggestions however, refusing to believe he was trying to do the right thing and ‘paint himself as the moral guardian’.
The crime of extortion can be receive a punishment of up to 15 years in jail.
Ruge laughed in the dock when his charge was read out loud at Victorian Country court on Thursday and covered his ears and closed his eyes as the prosecutor read out his offences.
He will be sentenced on Friday morning and has been told to prepare for prison.
Ruge used the gay dating app Grindr (pictured) to attempt to extort the engaged man who was using the app to ‘chat and flirt’