04/23/09 THE GREENWICH SUGAR DADDY CASE: Ohio couple plead not guilty to extortion plot

Photo: Dawn Jessop, 28 of Mansfield, Ohio. Arrested last week for her alleged involvement with her husband Christopher Jessop, 29, in an extortion plot that took $100,000 from a Greenwich man. PHOTO COURTESY of GPD

STAMFORD -- An Ohio couple who allegedly bilked $100,000 from a Greenwich man they met through a "sugar daddy" dating Web site pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of extortion.

Christopher Jessop, 30, and Dawn Jessop, 28, both of Mansfield, Ohio, appeared separately in state Superior Court in Stamford. Both are charged with first-degree larceny by extortion and first-degree conspiracy to commit larceny......

.....Police said that Dawn Jessop had already received a substantial amount of money through her online relationship with the Greenwich man, but took it one step further in November 2008 when she demanded money by threatening to expose their online chats and pictures to his family and the community.

The victim's private investigator told police that Dawn Jessop also threatened to expose the victim for patronizing prostitutes, according to the warrant. The Greenwich man complied with her request and later wired more money to Christopher Jessop, who sent an e-mail in January 2009 demanding additional hush money. In total, police said the Jessops extorted $100,000 from the man.

In his online conversations with various women, investigators said the man would refer to women as his "slaves" and they would respond back to him as "master," according to the warrant.

Prior to his contact with the Jessops, police said the victim had repeatedly been extorted by other people. One instance was investigated by Greenwich police in 2007, according to the warrant, while in another instance, the man gave $9,000 to a different woman he met on the site.

Source: http://www.greenwichtime.com/localnews/ci_12212049