A dating website blackmailer who threatened a woman he met on Match.com after she refused to sleep with him has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Paul Chapman, 61, from Colchester, Essex, bombarded his victim with abusive messages, claiming she owed him £150 he had spent on their date.
Threats and Abuse
Basildon Crown Court heard that Chapman sent the woman a series of threatening texts, branding her a 'slag' and warning: 'I won't be wasting my time to come and crush you like the maggot you are.' He claimed to have hacked her online accounts and obtained her address, threatening to send people to her home unless she paid up.
The victim was so terrified that she left her home for two weeks. Chapman later admitted to police that he wanted 'to watch her squirm.'
Court Proceedings
Judge Mark Ockelton told Chapman: 'I accept – I'm not confident whether it makes it better or worse – that that was all a load of nonsense. You had no access to her details. She was quite rightly really frightened and had to leave her house for a while.'
The court heard that Chapman met the woman on Match.com in November 2023. They had a first date on December 14 and a second date two days later at a restaurant in Rochford. During that encounter, the woman told police that Chapman became 'controlling and possessive,' commented on her outfit, and sexually assaulted her.
Pressure and Demands
After the second date, Chapman told the woman he was going on holiday on December 22 and pressured her to stay overnight with him beforehand. Prosecutor Robert Forrest said: 'She made it clear that she did not want to spend the night with him.' Chapman then sent a text at 3am on December 22, saying he was 'too old for just a walk in the park' and claiming to be 'a real man' who had met another woman who 'gave him what he wanted.'
That evening, he messaged: 'You should know we hacked your WhatsApp accounts, all of them, and your Match accounts and your phone. Interesting reading. Not a surprise though LOL.' A further message stated: 'We have your address now. Got it from DVLA database from your car registration, so you need to pay me what you owe me by PM today or people will come to collect and that will cost you £200 a visit.'
Plea and Sentence
Chapman, who has previous convictions for 29 offences including violence and dishonesty, initially pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual assault and blackmail. On what was due to be the opening day of his trial in February 2026, he pleaded guilty to blackmail, while the sexual assault charge was left to lie on file.
Defence barrister Michael Latham said: 'He regrets very much that he behaved in the way that he did. He accepts that it was wrong and upsetting for her.'
Recorder Ockelton handed Chapman a two-year custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, along with 100 hours of unpaid work and 25 rehabilitation activity days. He also ordered Chapman to pay £300 in compensation to the woman, plus £187 in court fees, and imposed a five-year restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim.
