Man steals ex-girlfriend's phone to blackmail her

A man stole his ex-girlfriend's mobile phone, got access to her private photos and allegedly blackmailed her saying he would spread the word that she was having an affair with him if she didn't pay him, a court heard.
The 39-year-old Egyptian engineer is accused of sending the Filipina secretary an e-mail in which he threatened to use her photos if she did not pay the money he wanted.
He has been charged in the Court of First Instance with blackmail and threat of defamation via the internet and theft.
The secretary, 29, said in the investigation that she discovered her phone was missing on February 1. "I reported the incident at Al Rafaa police station and they issued a circular."
A few days later, she received a call from the accused offering to help her find her phone and suggesting she give him the phone's password.
"I gave it to him unlock the phone. But about three weeks later I received an e-mail with a threatening content."
He informed her that he had access to all her accounts including her personal photos and videos.
She reported that incident also to the police.
"After coordinating with the police, it was known that the e-mail came from the accused."
She denied what he had written in the e-mail saying he had helped her with her pregnancy to escape prison. She said he made those claims to raise the suspicions against her. "I have known the accused only for a year, but my daughter is four years old," she told the prosecutor.
A police sergeant said the secretary's suspicions revolved around the accused as the one behind the theft of her mobile phone. "She said that whoever sent the e-mail spoke about matters which only the accused was aware of."
The police later found the phone in the defendant's car boot. "He had hidden it under the spare tyre. He allegedly said he took it as a guarantee so that she would re-pay the money she had borrowed from him."
The engineer admitted to the charge of sending the e-mail.
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