Man who blackmailed closeted Grindr users jailed for two and a half years
By Will Stroude
A blackmailer who used gay dating apps to threaten to expose clandestine users has been jailed for two and a half years today, according to the Luton on Sunday website.
Liam Hull, 22, pleaded guilty to three counts of blackmail today. As he handed down the sentence, the Judge described his actions as “the attempted murder of the soul”.
According to reports, Hull would make contact with his victims, before demanding money in exchange for keeping their Grindr use secret.
One victim paid over £1000 to keep Hull silent, while another had to confess to his wife of 20 years and two grown up children than he had been using Grindr.
One victim even suffered a mild stroke due to the stress induced by Hull’s blackmail.
The judge told unemployed Hull: “Lord Lane said that in the calendar of criminal offences, blackmail was one of the ugliest and most vicious because it involved what one found so often, the attempted murder of the soul.”
In 2015, Hull was convicted of making a false representation after asking for £200 to meet a man from Grindr, then failing to show up. He was cautioned in 2014 for threatening to expose a man on Facebook who had spoken to him via Grindr.
Judge Foster paid tribute to the bravery of victims for speaking up “to ensure that justice was done in this case.”