A man who claimed to have been abducted for ransom has been found guilty of blackmail by a jury in the Supreme Court in Burnie.
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On April 12, 2018 Nicholas Butcher, 34, faked his own kidnapping and sent a text demanding another man transfer $4000 to a bank account or Butcher would lose a finger every two minutes.
The man had known Mr Butcher for about two years at the time of the event.
He said they met through church groups, and the man had been offering Mr Butcher financial advice and would occasionally lend him money.
The man told the court he had lent Mr Butcher as much as $1900 at once, but had typically lent him between $100 - $200 a month for the 18 months prior to the blackmail.
The text read if the money was not deposited by 5pm on that day, Butcher would "disappear" forever, the court heard.
Similarly, if the man attempted to contact police Butcher would be killed, and he would never see him again, the text read.
Butcher maintained throughout the two day trial the abduction was legitimate.
He said he was held captive at the Bluff at Devonport for two hours that afternoon by two men, one of whom used his phone to text the man the details of the ransom.
The man told the court he went to police when he recognised the bank details provided in the text as those he had used to lend Butcher money in the past.
When the police attended Butcher's home at 7pm that day, they found Butcher unharmed and with all of his fingers intact.
Police constable Nicholas Parsons told the court Butcher said at that time he had been abducted by friends he had known from 13 years ago, but he could not name or describe his captors.
In sentencing submissions, Crown prosecutor Lisa Pennington said Butcher had a number of prior convictions for matters of forgery, dishonesty, and a 2008 aggravated burglary.
He was never going to get away with it.
- Justice Michael Brett
Trial judge Michael Brett said Butcher's crime was not a high level offence.
"He was never going to get away with it," he said.
"The way he's treated the man who has been very generous to him is the biggest issue."
Justice Brett adjourned sentencing until August 13.
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