A young woman allegedly pretended to have been kidnapped and raped as part of an attempt to extort money from a man she met online.
Elisa Timbers, 21, demanded £200 in messages on Snapchat after claiming she had been held captive and sexually assaulted, a court heard.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told she had even created videos purporting to show herself being held hostage.
The care assistant was eventually found after police visited her home and discovered her safe and well as part of a welfare check.
She initially told police her Snapchat account had been hacked but later admitted sending the messages claiming she had been forced into it.
Timbers, of Norwich, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between June 26 and 29 last year at Norwich Magistrates’ Court on October 1.
Asif Akram, prosecuting, said Timbers had begun exchanging messages over Snapchat after meeting someone online.
But days later the victim had contacted police after receiving threatening messages detailing lurid and disturbing claims.
Timbers said that she was the victim of an abuser called ‘Chris’ and demanded that he send her cash.
Mr Akram said: ‘She had control of the Snapchat accounts at the time.’
Emma Lloyd, mitigating, said while her actions were ‘unflattering to say the least’, Timbers had been ‘young and highly vulnerable.’
She added that Timbers was ‘in fear’ of another man she had met online who was the driving force behind her attempted extortion.
Ms Lloyd added: ‘She had begun talking to a man called ‘Chris’ but this became more and more unpleasant. He was telling her want to say and how to say it. There was no cash sent but if it had been she would never have seen any of it.’
Magistrates ordered reports prior to her sentencing until November 23.
They told Timbers all options were open.
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