A special full-day bail hearing is being scheduled for Chiliana May, a 24-year-old Toronto woman Sarnia police charged last week with extorting a local man by threatening to distribute intimate images.
A special full-day bail hearing is being scheduled for Chiliana May, a 24-year-old Toronto woman Sarnia police charged last week with extorting a local man by threatening to distribute intimate images.
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Police did not identify who they arrested after a woman, facing outstanding charges in the Toronto area including attempted murder, arrived in Sarnia on Jan. 15 allegedly to collect a large amount of money. But court records show May was charged that day with extortion and four counts of failing to comply with a release order. The charges are linked to a ban on using computers and the internet, a curfew, and house arrest, records show.
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May first appeared in a Sarnia courtroom Jan. 16, where she was remanded into custody and ordered not to contact two people including the complainant from Sarnia. She’s made multiple appearances since then in virtual Sarnia courtrooms through a video feed from the Sarnia Jail, including Wednesday, as her lawyer, Sharon Jeethan from Toronto firm HWJ Criminal Lawyers, puts together a bail hearing with the Lambton Crown attorney’s office.
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Called a special bail hearing, it’s expected to take up an entire day. The case will return next week to pick the day.
The complainant initially met a woman through her online advertisement for sexual services, police said last week. Over time, the woman obtained intimate images and personal information, police said.
The woman then threatened to distribute the images online to the complainant’s friends and family unless money was paid. Eventually, the complainant alerted police earlier this month and a criminal investigation began, police said.
Police said they have not ruled out the possibility there may be other complainants. Anyone involved is asked to call Sarnia police at 519-344-8861. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-8477.
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