A SERIAL stalker who married a billionaire’s daughter
has been jailed for 12 years after trying to extort £2million from her family
by posting explicit photos of her online.
James Casbolt, 37, demanded the fortune in exchange
for not sharing further nude pictures of Haley Meijer – heiress to an
£8.5billion fortune
Ms Meijer, daughter of US supermarket tycoon Hank
Meijer, had reluctantly taken the pictures for Casbolt after they married,
sending them to him while he was away in the Army.
But when she later threatened to divorce him and
remove contact with their son, Casbolt threatened to “destroy” her and her
entire family.
He admitted blackmail, stalking and harassment of Ms
Meijer and two other women and was jailed for a total 12 years at Truro Crown Court,
Cornwall.
Judge Christopher Harvey Clark QC said: “The
circumstances of your offences reveal a highly intelligent calculating and
criminal mind. Your motives, to put it bluntly, were evil. Your intentions were
evil. You had little to no idea of the impact upon your victim.
“In particular the way you sought to intimidate and
humiliate Hayley Meijer shows a deprived and distorted set of values. You were
not mad, but you were bad and very dangerous.”
The court heard that, even on bail, Casbolt targeted two
other women, young mother Simone Everett and professional surfer Anastassia
Swallow.
He harassed them with Facebook messages, leaving them
fearful for their lives.
Earlier, the court heard how Casbolt, of St Ives,
Cornwall, met Ms Meijer via the internet in 2009 before the couple moved to
America and later wed. But her father Hank, boss of a supermarket chain, never
approved.
Prosecutor Phillip Lee said the couple later moved to
her mother’s home in Michigan and in May 2012 he joined the US Army. It is
after that when he asked his wife to send him explicit pictures.
She started divorce proceedings when he became
violent.
The blackmail threats began after he returned to
Britain.
Ms Meijer said the “devastating” campaign had left her
feeling suicidal.
But he told police: “I don’t care how she feels, I
don’t care how her family feels.”
The judge told him: “This time you used the alias of a
mythical serial killer. You are a dangerous man. You present a significant risk
to the public and I am going to pass a lengthy prison sentence.”
Jason Beal, for the defence, said of his client: “He
is a man who is stepping towards recognition of the seriousness of his
actions.”
Casbolt had earlier admitted blackmailing Ms Meijer by
making unwarranted demands for £2million, stalking her involving serious alarm
or distress between October 2013 and July 2014 by sending threatening and
offensive text messages and e mails and by posting threatening and offensive
messages and images on social websites.
He also admitted two charges of putting a person in
fear by harassment involving Ms Everett and Ms Swallow.