Leanne Potter-Williamson, 39, and Daniel Williamson, 40, sent threatening messages to 10 men between October 2023 and January 2024.
A couple has been jailed for more than a decade combined after carrying out a “terrifying” blackmail campaign targeting men who visited an adult website.
Leanne Potter-Williamson, 39, and Daniel Williamson, 40, bombarded 10 men with menacing messages between October 2023 and January 2024. Leanne initially made contact with these men through a platform called Adult Work, where users share explicit content.
She would then demand cash from the men, and if they refused to pay up, her husband Daniel would step in with intimidating threats. Daniel would send victims chilling messages including “we need to have a little chat” and “I know everything about you”, reports Cambridgeshire Live.
When some victims tried to block the initial messages, they were hit with fresh threats warning that someone would turn up at their doorstep. After demanding £150 from one victim, Daniel wrote: “I know where you live and they’d take care of it.”
Another sinister message to a different victim threatened that their “wife was going to find out” about their activity on the website. The pair faced justice at Cambridge Crown Court on Thursday (November 20).
Leanne initially denied the charges but switched to a guilty plea in October 2025. Victim impact statements were read aloud in court, revealing the devastating effect of the blackmail scheme.
One victim described the messages as “distressing” and said they “were nervous for months”. They confessed: “I was on edge at home. If I heard a loud noise or bang I would think that they were coming over. At the time, especially as it was winter, it was getting dark earlier.
“I was concerned that there would be someone hiding either waiting for me or jumping out of the way. I was wary of going out. I became more irritable and unsociable and there was always an air of caution in the back of my mind.”
Another victim expressed feeling “intimidated and threatened” by the messages.
The actions were labelled ‘disgraceful’
In mitigation, Daniel’s defence stated that since the incident, Daniel had “two years to reflect further on what he did”. They added that Daniel acknowledged his actions were “unpleasant and disgraceful” and that he “deeply regrets” them.
While in custody, he has attempted to assist others in prison. His defence informed the court that he had “dedicated himself” to making the custody process “easier” for others.
Daniel’s defence added that while he “knows all those efforts can’t undo the things he did two years ago”, he hoped his altered behaviour might offer “some cause of hope” to the court.
Leanne’s defence requested the court consider “both offenders separately as well as together”, noting Leanne committed fewer offences than her husband. He pointed out it was incorrect to suggest Leanne’s offences occurred over a “substantial period of time”, as her crimes were committed within a 24-hour span, and in one instance, over a week.
The defence stated: “It is clear that when she embarked upon opening up an account with Adult Work and providing services to Adult Work, that was a genuine, albeit desperate, way to make money.”
They further noted that as time progressed, she realised “that the information she gathered could be used”.
The defence emphasised that her offending “was not brought out of greed” but “out of desperation”. The defence explained that as the family grappled with financial difficulties, Leanne “crumbled and gave in to a form of escapism” by resorting to crack cocaine.
The defence added that this led to Leanne “advertising herself” on Adult Work which “allowed herself to be drawn into the offences to which she is now to be sentenced”. The court heard that Leanne now has stable accommodation, a voluntary job which she hopes to turn into a permanent one, and three children under 18 to care for.
Daniel, from Orton Goldhay, Peterborough, received a sentence of seven years and four months in prison after admitting to 10 counts of blackmail. Leanne, from Harvester Way, Crowland, was handed a sentence of three years and one month in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of blackmail.
The couple used their children’s phones to contact victims
During the sentencing, Judge Grey noted that the couple provided differing reasons for their crimes in their pre-sentence reports. Judge Grey stated: “You, Mr. Williamson, say that you were gambling heavily and consequently in debt. You, Miss Potters-Williamson say that both you and your husband were misusing illegal substances, and it was those addictions that put you in debt.”
He further added that Daniel “conceived the idea of blackmailing actual or potential clients of your wife”. According to Judge Grey, the pair transformed the act of blackmail into a “small commercial enterprise”, profiting from “truly vicious attempts at extortion”.
Judge Grey continued: “Whatever one might think of the morality of those using your online services was possible – or even those who were simply considering doing so, there’s no suggestion that any of them were doing anything illegal.”
The court also heard that the couple occasionally used their children’s phones to contact victims. This, Judge Grey described as an “ugly feature of the case”.
Judge Grey concluded: “You knew, or certainly hoped that those who received your messages would be so horrified and appalled that they would agree to pay you money. Just let that sink in.
“You wanted to terrify or horrify your victims. It was your intention to have such a severe emotional effect on each of them that they would simply hand over to you their money.”
The judge characterised Daniel as the “driver of this offending” and stated he had “utterly lost” his “moral compass” during the offences.
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