A "sextortionist" who tried to force a fellow student to send him nude photos, has claimed he was trying he was trying to help her.
David Drynan used a college computer from which a female had earlier failed to log out and accessed her Facebook account to view private images.
She had sent pictures of herself in her underwear to her boyfriend and Drynan tried to use them to blackmail her into sending him nude photos.
He posted the private photos online after she failed to respond to a request to send him nude pictures.
Drynan, from Kirkcaldy, was removed from his computer course at Fife College when his actions came light and appeared in court for sentencing.
Despite accepting his own guilt, he tried to put some of the blame on the girl for failing to properly observe online security measures. He claimed he was trying to help her by teaching her a lesson.
He told Dunfermline Sheriff Court: “Cyber security’s very important to me. I made the mistake of trying to scare a lesson into her.
“I wanted to show her the worst case scenario and took on that role. My intention was not to get more pictures. I didn’t think anybody in their right mind would send more photos."
He claimed he only realised he had done wrong when he was arrested but this was dismissed by a sheriff.
Depute fiscal Ms Alex Kirk asked Drynan: “Who made you the internet police? You just wanted to see this pretty girl naked.”
Drynan, 29, of Rosabelle Street, admitted that on June 7 last year at an address in Kirkcaldy, he behaved in a threatening or abusive manner and intended to cause his victim fear, alarm or distress.
The court previously heard he had created a fake profile and began making threats to post the photos to the public if she did not send him naked images.
The victim was able to track the IP address and investigations began.
The following day more messages were received from the fake profile including, one which said, “Last chance”. When he did not receive the photos he demanded, Drynan posted the original images on-line.
When police inquiries led to his arrest, Drynan commented, “I have no words” and said he did not know anyone of the victim’s name.
Sheriff Charles MacNair rejected Drynan’s cyber-security tale and put him on the sex offenders’ register.
He also imposed a community payback order with two years’ supervision and 225 hours of unpaid work. The sheriff told Drynan it was only the fact that he was a first offender that had kept him out of jail.
