Guilty plea to blackmail charge

A St Kilda man could face a jail term after pleading guilty to a charge of blackmail for threatening to out a -œsenior political figure.

The Age reported Jake Della-Vedova, 25, threatened to out a married senior political figure, attempting to extort $15,000 after he met the man on a gay dating website.

The name of the victim has been suppressed by the court and was not read out during the court case.

According to The Age, Della-Vedova was even banned from revealing the victim’s name to family members.

The court heard Della-Vedova threatened to release on the internet a secretly filmed video he took of the pair having sex unless the victim paid up.

It was alleged the blackmail attempt came after the pair ended a five-month relationship, whereupon Della-Vedova learned the identity of the victim.

Della-Vedova was arrested and char-ged in July last year after the unnamed politician lodged a complaint with police about the blackmail demand.
Della-Vedova is due to appear for sentencing this Friday. He could face a maximum of 15 years in prison.