Falsely reported a man to the police for rape, after he refused to comply with her blackmail demands.
Address: Horton Drive, Upper Lighthorne, Leamington Spa, Stratford-On-Avon, Warwickshire, CV33
Age: 34
A blackmailer threatened a man with rape charges unless he paid her £5,000. Tahereh Ghorbanlou met her victim on an online dating app in March 2021, and they started interacting.
They agreed to meet on March 12 at the victim’s home address in Nottingham for a drink before having consensual intercourse. Ghorbanlou made a casual remark about having to pay for sex the next time, but the victim laughed it off and they parted on good terms.
However, in the days that followed, she sent him a series of communications in which she claimed she was hurt and in agony and that he would be fined £30,000 if a sexual crime charge was reported to police.
She then texted him her bank information, asking that he transfer £5,000 or she will go to the police and accuse him of “sexual violence.” The victim promptly reported the threats to police officers, who initiated an investigation.
Ghorbanlou was arrested and informed authorities she had been a victim of sexual assault, but she refused to submit a formal statement or sign the statements she had made. She phoned police again on March 20, 2021, after being released on bail, to file a counter-allegation of rape against the man.
Detectives investigated both complaints and found no indication that Ghorbanlou was the victim of any sexual offense. Mobile phone data indicated Ghorbanlou’s attempts to blackmail the man, as well as her search for’sexual violence price’ and ’sexual violence definition’ the day following the alleged rape.
The 34-year-old, of Horton Drive, Upper Lighthorne, Warwickshire, made no comment in police interviews until pleading guilty to one count of blackmail in May 2023, more than two years later. She was sentenced to two years and three months in prison on Wednesday (6 September) at Nottingham Crown Court.
Detective Inspector Chris Berryman, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The victim in this case did absolutely the right thing in reporting Ghorbanlou’s demands to us.
“She has made devious and dishonest threats in an attempt to extort cash from the victim and then made a completely false allegation of rape against him. I am pleased her callous behaviour has been exposed by our investigation and a judge has seen fit to put her behind bars.
“I also hope this case shows Nottinghamshire Police takes blackmail and extortion offences very seriously and is there to help anyone who finds themselves being threatened like this.
“The victim has been wrongly accused of a very serious offence and then put through a two-year ordeal and court proceedings. The prison sentence handed down to Ghorbanlou will hopefully allow him to move on with his life.”
