A TINDER user is accused of blackmailing her date for £500 after threatening to make a false rape allegation to police.
Raluca Vasiu, of Charles Street, Oxford, is on trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with one count of blackmail against a man who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The 26-year-old is accused of blackmailing the man, stating she would make a fake rape allegation after the condom ‘came off’ while the pair were having consensual sex.
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However, the former Oxford student has denied the offence, telling police the man had decided to give her £500 on his own.
During the trial opening on Monday (June 17), a 12-strong jury heard that Vasiu had matched with the defendant on the popular dating app Tinder before the pair began chatting on WhatsApp.
They decided to meet in Oxford for a coffee on March 28, 2021. Afterwards, they went to the defendant’s address to watch a Formula One race.
It was heard that later that day, the pair then decided to have consensual sex. However, the condom ‘appeared to have come off’, causing Vasiu to allegedly ‘freak out’.
The man said Vasiu had left the room for 20 minutes before returning with ‘blood on her head’.
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“He told her to calm down and the defendant told him she had mental health problems,” said the prosecution.
“[She] moved her hair to one side and had blood on her face and told him she had a self-induced wound just by her right eye.
“She threatened to call the police and tell them [the boy] had raped her. She said she had friends and knew lawyers and would sue him for every penny he had.
“The defendant said she had a way the situation could be resolved which was by him giving her £500.”
It is alleged the former student was panicked and had contemplated jumping out of the window before agreeing to walk to a cash point with Vasiu.
CCTV footage was shown of the pair at the cash point, with the student handing over £500 and the defendant walking off in the opposite direction.
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The complainant returned home and confided in his flatmate about what happened before he decided to call the police.
Vasiu was arrested and the £500 was found in her property.
During her police interview, she said she had been given the money and had ‘made no demands from him for anything’ and he gave it to her of ‘his own free will’.
The trial, which is expected to last two to three days, continues.
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