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A conman has been jailed after staging his own kidnapping to dupe his friends into handing over thousands of pounds.
Ashford's Christopher Sellman created an elaborate web of lies to fool his victims into thinking his life was in danger – but was caught out by spelling mistakes.
The two victims' six-week ordeal started on February 15 when they both received messages on WhatsApp from an unrecognised phone number, containing a photograph of Sellman with a razor blade being held to his throat.
Alongside the awful photo was a message from someone claiming to have kidnapped the 23-year-old, saying that he would only be released if the victims paid money into a certain bank account.
The concerned victims paid the money, only to receive more messages demanding more money into the account the following day.
The demands continued throughout the month; on February 24, the victims were sent a picture of Sellman with a gun in his mouth, and demands for cash, to which they paid £1,000 in response.
On March 15 another set of threatening messages arrived, with a further demand for money. When the victims responded that they had no more money, they were threatened with violence and told the “kidnappers” knew where the victims lived, prompting them to call the police.
More messages were sent to the victims, including photos of Sellman with a crossbow to his face, a razor blade to the back of his head and a video in which someone could be seen repeatedly forcing his head underwater.
During the ordeal the victims changed their phone numbers, but instead they began to get messages sent via email and social media platforms.
In total the victims paid in the region of £10,000 in the belief both they and Sellman could come to harm otherwise.
However, detectives reviewing the messages were able to identify similarities between messages sent by Sellman on his own number and those of the kidnappers, including identical spelling and grammar mistakes.
This lead them to raid Sellman’s former home, where he was found and arrested on suspicion of blackmail on March 24.
"The victims were terrified of the consequences if they didn't pay..."
Weapons matching those seen in the photos, as well as mobile phones containing the threatening messages were recovered from the property and Sellman, along with his former partner Stephanie Gibb, were both charged with blackmail offences the following day.
Sellman, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years and four months jail time at Canterbury Crown Court.
Gibb, 28, of Westwell Lane, Ashford, received an 18-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, after she admitted her part in the blackmail plot.
Investigating officer PC Edward Pegg said: "Sellman showed an appalling abuse of trust for those who care about him, faking his own kidnap and torture for money to spend on sports clothing and takeaways.
"The victims were terrified of the consequences if they didn’t pay, their only concern being to protect Sellman.
"My thoughts are with the victims, and I hope they are able to look forward and take the time they need to recover from this incident."
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