Members of the LGBT community have often found themselves the targets of crime. Unfortunately, with the advent of technology, the range of these crimes has significantly broadened. Recently, a number of gay men have become the focus of a blackmail scam.
These men would meet other gay men online and then engaged in consensual sexual acts. However, almost immediately afterwards, these men would be contacted by a third party who would tell them that the person with whom they just engaged in consensual sexual acts with was a minor. In Michigan, statutory rape is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The third party would then tell these men that he would report them unless they paid him off. Sometimes the payment was a few hundred dollars, but in other instances the payment would be upwards of $70,000.00.Â
Many of these men contacted Dana Nessel, of Nessel and Kessel Law and founder of Fair Michigan, a nationally known civil rights attorney. Ms. Nessel advised these men to contact the police because it was clear that they had been targeted by a scam artist. Thankfully some of the men did and one man has been taken into custody.Â
Here is a link to a story done by Channel 7 WXYZ, in which Michigan LGBT attorney Dana Nessel spoke about the matter.Â