Woman blackmailed officer with false rape threat claim

A nightclub waitress who edited a recording of a conversation to make it sound like an officer was threatening to rape her has been jailed. Georgia Harris, 20, from Chelmsford in Essex, recorded a discussion with a Metropolitan Police Service officer – who was not named in court – about a “hypothetical” sex attack scenario. She cropped the recording to a short clip in which the officer can be heard saying: “I’d be raping you”, with her replying: “I don’t want you to rape me”. Maidstone Crown Court heard Harris sent the clip to the victim, claiming she was 15, and demanded that he put £200 into her bank account. She later upped this to £250. Harris, who was 19 at the time of the recording, was sentenced to eight months at a young offenders’ institution after admitting blackmail on Wednesday (January 4). The officer, who lives in Sevenoaks in Kent, was “shocked and panicked” upon receiving the clip but spoke to his boss before reporting the blackmail to Kent Police. After Harris was arrested, she sent a letter of apology to the force addressed to her victim saying: “I was not in my right mind. After all, who blackmails a police officer?”. Judge Jeremy Carey said Harris’ letter showed “an appropriate degree of recognition of the seriousness” of her crime but warranted immediate custody to deter others from doing the same thing. The officer had previously lent her money on various occasions and taken her on a shopping trip to buy clothes, the court heard. Initially meeting online in December 2015, the couple went for dinner with Harris’ friend, but it was in March when they began talking again and met up two or three times. Prosecutor Peter Forbes said Harris began to change her tone and pestered her victim about staying at his place, to which he refused. In May 2016, as she was being driven home, Harris instigated a conversation about rape while recording the officer. Mr Forbes said: “She began to ask, in her words, about hypothetical scenarios. She said: `What would you do if I told you I was 15 years old?`. “He asked her why she would say that and said her profile on the dating website indicated she was at least 18, and she was in fact 19 by this time. “She said she was 17 and then asked him: `If you were to force me to have sex with you, what would that be?`. “He replied: `I`d be raping you`, and went on to explain why that would be the case, but clearly stated nothing had happened and it was just hypothetical.” The officer was confused by the conversation and dropped her home shortly after, said Mr Forbes. Later that night, Harris accused the officer of threatening to rape her and sent the edited clip to him. In a statement the officer said: “She has always been talking about money and asking for money. “I am extremely disturbed by this and feel it has affected me personally with trust issues and has made me realise how vulnerable I can be.”