Prostitute's lover claims blackmailers threatened to rape his wife

Published on Tuesday 26 May 2009 22:02

A BANK worker took out a loan to pay £10,000 in cash to two blackmailers who threatened to expose his three-year relationship with a prostitute to his wife, a court heard yesterday.

The 55-year-old Scottish IT worker had been warned that if he did not come up with the money or went to the police, he would have a finger cut off and his wife would be raped in front of their children, it was alleged.

The man went to a bank in Edinburgh city centre and was "too scared of reprisals" to raise the alarm with staff as he negotiated a loan to pay the two men, a jury was told.

A few days later, however, he confided in a colleague, and revealed the truth to his wife after the police were alerted. "My wife is considering divorce," the man said. "There has been a lot of unhappiness, most of it I brought on myself, I accept that. It was a situation really of my making."

Stephen Dobson, 39, and John Dobson, 36, deny extorting 10,000 from the man. They blame the sauna girl for any threats to disclose the relationship to the man's wife. They also deny extorting 1,300 from a second man on another occasion.

The man told the High Court in Edinburgh he was an IT worker with the Royal Bank of Scotland. He had first met Catherine Purcell, who used the name Cindy, in 2005 at Carol's Sauna, Easter Road, Edinburgh.

"She was working as a masseuse. I visited the sauna for female company, relaxation and sex… sometimes once a week, sometimes more, sometimes less," he said. The cost was put at up to 140 a week. He began to see Ms Purcell away from the sauna, and would give her a lift to work from her home in Musselburgh, East Lothian, and visit her at her house.

On 17 October last year, he said, he received a call from a man. "He told me I needed to meet him, that he had information he would disclose to my wife about my relationship with Ms Purcell. Shortly after that, I received another call. It was a different caller. He was quite angry and insistent I should meet him and the other person straightaway. He threatened he would come and find me if I didn't."

He told the jury that he went to a meeting place on the road into Musselburgh, and parked near a red van. The jury was told that John Dobson got into the car, followed by Stephen Dobson, who grabbed him round the neck from behind.

"They indicated I was going to have to pay 10,000 to them. Stephen Dobson produced a knife and held it against my face. They were quite insistent I would be able to get my hands on such a sum. It was suggested they were Ms Purcell's cousins and one or both had been out the country and discovered what she was doing and were not happy with the work she was in, and intended to use the money to get her out of that and off drugs," the man told the court.

He said he was threatened with having a finger cut off if he did not get hold of the money or if he contacted police.

The man also said he was told his wife would be raped in front of their children, and the men claimed they had been involved with gangs and had access to firearms.

He was frightened and went with the men in his car to a branch of his bank, Barclay's, but was unable to secure a loan.

Next, he tried the Royal Bank of Scotland in George Street, Edinburgh, and was able to negotiate a loan and an immediate cash withdrawal of 10,000.

He handed over the money in two wads of notes to Stephen Dobson, the court heard.

The trial continues.