A 17-year-old blackmailed the man to whom she had sent explicit images of herself – claiming the police had launched an investigation into him but she had the power to stop it.

In reality, the police probe was a fiction, made up by Courtney-Jade Mildenhall in order to extort thousands from the victim over five months in 2019.

She made repeated demands for cash, claiming she needed the money to pay off loans, for a ‘hair transplant’ in London and designer clothing.

Mildenhall, now 21, who posed for selfies with wads of cash and was asked by a friend if she could blackmail another on her behalf, promised to pay the victim back but never did.

Oxford Crown Court heard the victim, a man in his early 20s who began talking to the teen on Snapchat in early 2019, had considered taking his own life as a result of the blackmail.

Summarising his victim impact statement, prosecutor Cathy Olliver said: “He was beginning to think of ending it all to get away from her.” He ‘jumped every time’ he heard the doorbell, he said, believing the police were at his door.

Over the course of the blackmail, he handed over £14,375 to his tormentor. He was forced to get a loan and even asked his parents for money before he told them of the situation he was in.

Ms Olliver read from a string of manipulative messages from Mildenhall to her victim. In one, she warned ‘you need to send as much as you can and I’ll forget about the case’ and in another told him he should take out a loan or go into his overdraft.

Mildenhall, of Diamond Drive, Didcot, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in the crown court to a single count of blackmail. Her plea was entered on a basis, which included the claim she had not known about his mental health difficulties.

She returned to court this week for sentence, with Judge Maria Lamb telling her: “You exploited a man who regarded you as a friend. He thought you were 18 years of age or more and you and he had a financial arrangement whereby he would pay for material of you involved in sexual activity.

“But once he knew how told you in fact were – 17 years of age – he straight away broke off the association between you.

“But in July of 2019 you contacted him once again and you told a barefaced lie in order to extract money from him – a complete and utter fiction that there was a police investigation and thereafter you went [on] to fleece him for all you could make from him.”

After hearing that Mildenhall, who had a young baby, worked part-time as a cleaner and was a completely different person to the 17-year-old she was when she carried out the scam, the judge deferred sentence for five months.

The young mum was told that as conditions of the deferrment she must pay £500 in compensation within 21 days, make reasonable attempts to pay further compensation, obtain additional employment and not contact the victim.

She will return to court on May 12 for sentence.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward