'Menacing' Sheffield woman, 31, blackmailed man she met online by suddenly claiming she was actually 15

Michaela Honeyman, of Longley Hall Way, ran the “menacing” scam after posing on an explicit chat website as ‘Naughty Ami’ before making contact with her victim in 2022.

The man - who has been given lifelong anonymity and referred to only as ‘X’ - believed he was talking to a 24-year-old woman and sent ‘Ami’ compromising photos of himself.

However, as the Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson told Honeyman at her sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court, (March 21): “ “‘Ami’ was, in fact, you.

“In due course, you asked for money... ‘X’ thought this was a loan and the amounts he sent were relatively low.”

The 31-year-old’s reasons for needing money grew, including claiming her mother had fallen ill and died and even asking for help to cover her ‘funeral costs.’

However, after several months of asking for money, and after ‘X’ refused to lend any more, Honeyman’s conversations turned menacing, and she told what the judge called “a malicious lie” in a bid to extort him for more.

Judge Richardson said: “While talking with ‘X’, you previously asserted you were 24, but you then told him that you were aged 15.

“Consequently, had you in fact been 15 years old, the exchange of explicit photographs would have been a criminal act and put ‘X’ at risk of prosecution.”

‘Naughty Ami’ then blackmailed money from the victim, threatening to “tell everyone” he was ‘a paedophile’, while also claiming she would have her older brother assault him.

However, the victim took action of his own.

In February 2023, ‘X’ undertook what the court called “some searches of his own” to learn more about who he was talking to.

Using the bank details where he had sent the money, ‘X’ found Honeyman on Facebook and determined it was ‘Ami’ through her tattoos, before going to the police himself. Honeyman was arrested soon after.

In total, ‘X’ was extorted out of £1,951.

Judge Richardson said: “He is embarrassed and ashamed. I can well believe he would feel exceptionally vulnerable.”

The court heard Honeyman was addicted to crack cocaine during the time of offending, and went on to commit a robbery in February 2023, for which she received a suspended sentence.

Judge Richardson said: “Blackmail of this nature is a pernicious crime that causes lasting damage to the victim.

“It digs deeply into the personal vulnerabilities of the victim. It’s a crime with a menace at its core that caused several months of anguish for the victim.”

Honeyman was sentenced to two years in prison, and was handed a restraining order against ever contacting ‘X.’