A victim of a man who pretended to be a gay rent boy to blackmail gay men has said the effects of the fraud will never go away.
Robert Bain forced one of his victims to come out to his family because he kept asking him for cash to keep his sexuality secret.
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He said that he would frame him as a child abuser and leak details of his private life online and in the local newspaper.
Bain managed to con £16,000 out of another man by saying he had a sick child and needed expensive care before threatening him with gangsters.
He was intimidated in his own home and warned that his family would be hurt if he didnt hand over large sums of cash.
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One of the victims said: The effects will remain with me for some time yet and may never go away.
Bain, who has now been jailed for six years, met one of his victims on wasteland in Newcastle while waiting for a male escort who failed to show up.
Bain pretended to be the male prostitute and they walked away together.
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But then He said he was from anti-paedophile group Protectors of the North and told him you are going to get caught, you are a paedo, a nonce before demanding cash.
The victim gave him £200 and hoped that Bain would go away but he turned up at his house and demanded more money.
Prosecutor Mark Giuliani told the court: He said things would be put on the internet that would identify him as a homosexual man.
He said to him he was going to put things online and in the Evening Chronicle, saying he was going to out him, he was going to say he was a paedo, a nonce, and f****t.
The court heard the victim had handed over a total of £1,260 when Bain turned up at his home again and demanded more money but this time the brave complainant refused to pay.
Mr Giuliani said: Having stood up to the defendant, the complainant went home and effectively broke down and told members of of his family what had been happening to him.
He felt it necessary to inform his family he was, in fact, gay. He had to out himself.
The victim said in a statement he was frightened and terrified during the ordeal and added: I feel I will live with this for the rest of my life.
The court heard the second gay victim was convinced Bain was also homosexual and initially freely handed over loans as their friendship grew, in the belief they would be paid back.
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As Bains requests for cash started to increase, he said he had a sick son and that they needed money to travel to Scotland, which made the victim feel sorry for him.
The court heard when victim started to become reluctant to hand over more cash, Bain changed tactics.
Mr Giuliani said: He became more openly threatening, saying if he didnt hand over money a gang called the Conroys could come calling for looking for him and smash up his home and car, saying he knew where his family lived and they would be hurt.
Bain even penned a letter, claiming to be contract from one of the Conroys, saying money had to be handed over by 2pm as a guarantee to be the end.
By the end of the mans ordeal, Bain had pocketed £15,797.
The court heard the victims credit score was badly effected by him having to find large cash sums and take out taking out high interest pay day loans.
Bain, of Gateshead who has no fixed address, admitted two charges of blackmail as well as fraud and theft in relation to the second man.
Bain also pleaded guilty to a fraud charge after taking £295 from a disabled mans account, who had handed over a cash card in exchange for having his windows cleaned.
Judge Simon Batiste sentenced Bain to six years behind bars and said his behaviour was wicked.
The judge said: Eventually, one man, went inside and told his family what was happening and the fact he was gay.
As a result of this offence he, in fact, had to out himself to his family.
Rachel Hedworth, defending, said Bain has a long term drug habit, which is at the root of his long criminal record, and is extremely remorseful for his actions.
Miss Hedworth said Bain pretended he was also homosexual and added: He, in fact, led both of these men on to believe something would happen, that he would embark on a relationship with both of them in the first instance.
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