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	Blackmailer Threatened to Reveal Identity of Gay Priest Birmingham Mail April 19, 2010 http://www.birminghammail.net/news/birmingham-news/2010/04/19/blackmailer-threatened-to-reveal-identity-of-gay-priest-97319-26268096/ A BIRMINGHAM man who threatened to expose a gay Roman Catholic priest's sexuality has been jailed for 18 months after a court heard how he demanded £5,000. Birmingham Crown Court heard that Towlys Pericleous had a sexual relationship with the priest, who has not been named but was based in Birmingham. Matters turned sour when the priest tried to end the relationship. Judge Phillip Parker QC told Pericleous: "The priest felt he should end the relationship. "But you became angry and you began to bombard him with texts. Those texts threatened to expose his behaviour to the newspapers and the church and also included a demand for £5,000." He said blackmail was a serious offence but that it was an unusual case and accepted that Pericleous had acted out of "anger and frustration". Pericleous, 28, of Wilmcote Tower, Upper Highgate Street, Birmingham, had previously admitted a charge of blackmail. Nigel Wilkins, prosecuting, said the victim had met the defendant in a gay bar in Birmingham in 2004 and there had been a sexual relationship between them. He said the priest had tried to end it but it had continued and that the priest accepted he had paid in total around £5,000 to Pericleous in return for sexual activity and also out of sympathy for him because he was of limited means. Mr Wilkins said there was an occasion when Pericleous, after staying with the victim, had driven off in his Jaguar car. He said he had returned the car but had demanded cash because he wanted new clothes and the priest had given him £180. After paying over another sum the priest told Pericleous that was to be their last meeting, but the victim started to receive text messages from the defendant which became "increasingly threatening and demanding" and included the threat to expose him. Mr Wilkins said Pericleous also posted a note through the priest's letterbox threatening to "tell everybody who you really are". He said after receiving more texts, the victim contacted the police. Sharon Bailey, defending, said there was more than just a material side to the relationship and that Pericleous felt a degree of emotional attachment and admiration for the priest because of his status.
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