Court told bank worker blackmailed over sauna

Published on Wednesday 27 May 2009 09:37

A BANK worker has told a court how he handed over £10,000 to two blackmailers who threatened to expose his relationship with a vice girl and rape his wife in front of her children.

The 55-year-old man said the demands for cash were linked to his visits to an Edinburgh sauna "for female company, relaxation and sex". He saw a "masseuse" who called herself Cindy.

The High Court in Edinburgh yesterday heard that threats and demands for money came from two men who claimed they were Cindy's cousins and wanted to rescue her from a life of vice and drugs.

On trial are Stephen Dobson, 39, and John Dobson, 36, who deny charges of extortion and breach of the peace.

The bank worker said his visits to Carol's Sauna in Easter Road began in mid-2005 and ended in October last year.

"I was abducted and had money extorted from me and I believe she was involved in that event," he told advocate depute Morag Jack, prosecuting.

The bank worker told of his terror during a car journey during which a knife was held towards his face.

Stephen Dobson and John Dobson told him he would have to find the money, telling him they were linked to gangs.

The trial continues.