A 30-year-old man appeared in court after he threatened to share sexually explicit images of his ex-girlfriend and falsely advertise her as a prostitute online if she didn’t give him £500.

Dean Townsend, of Giasgill Court in Widnes, appeared in Warrington Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to threating to disclose sexual images.

The court heard that the 30-year-old messaged an ex-partner on December 16 last year while in Warrington.

Townsend threatened her and told her that if she did not pay him £500, he would advertise her as a prostitute online.

The victim was told that sexually explicit pictures of her would be shared on a website called Vivastreet, an advertising website used to buy and sell services and goods.

Prosecution for the case, Miss McCoubrey, told the court that Townsend also sent the victim pictures of her vagina to her as part of the threat.

Townsend, who was on licence at the time after serving 10 months in prison for a fraudulent offence in 2022, was interviewed by police and gave ‘no reasonable explanation for his behaviour’.

Defending, Mr Farnan noted that there had been a breakdown in the relationship between Townsend and his ex-girlfriend prior to the messages being sent.

Mr Farnan also told the court that Townsend was seeking ‘money that he said she owed him’ but had ‘no intention’ of sharing the images.

The case has been adjourned and Townsend is due to be sentenced at a later date.