A builder who threatened to reveal his affair with a married parish councillor when she refused to pay him for “shoddy” work on her bungalow was found not guilty of blackmail yesterday.
Kenneth Barker admitted telling Carolyn Brown that he intended to send compromising photographs of them to her mother and husband, but said that it was “persuasion” rather than a threat.
In the letter he warned his former lover, a mother of five, to pay nearly £3,000 that he claimed she owed him within ten days or face the consequences.
Mr Barker, 62, had had an 18-month affair with Mrs Brown, a property developer, in 2003 when she hired him to do some maintenance work on one of her properties. In April last year, after their relationship had ended, Mrs Brown and her husband Roger employed Barker to build a £20,000 extension to their bungalow.
Mrs Brown complained that the floors were uneven, doors would not shut and the roof failed to meet building regulations. After a furious row Mr Barker downed tools but claimed that the Browns still owed him for 181 hours of work he had done. In February he sent the “threatening” letter along with his bill for £2,780.
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Piers Norsworthy, for the prosecution, told Truro Crown Court: “The letter was written to place pressure upon Mrs Carolyn Brown.
“It was aggressive, threatening and not the proper thing to do. It was pay the bill or your husband, mother and the community will know about the affair. The desire was to cause embarrassment to Mrs Brown.”
The note read: “I did a bit of spring cleaning last week and found a couple of photos and things. I also managed to find a Valentine card. The photos will go down well with your so-called friends and relations very nicely. I will start with your mother and Roger.”
He referred to a photograph of Mrs Brown judging a village-in-bloom contest, published in her local paper, and said that he would send one of the two pictures of them on a secret holiday in the Scilly Isles.
He wrote: “They will see you, instead of judging flowers, on holiday in the Scillies judging the builder – that would look nice on the front page. Need I go on?”
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Mr Barker denied that he had been threatening his former lover. He said: “I wouldn’t call it a threat, I would call it persuasion. It was the only way to get the money – that was my last resort. I couldn’t afford to write it off or I would go under.” Instead of paying, Mrs Brown complained to the police. An officer called on Mr Barker to warn him against contacting the Browns. Mr Barker ignored the warning and wrote a note to Mrs Brown’s mother, Loveday Stephens, and left it in a microwave outside her back door.
Mrs Brown told the court that she and her husband had lived separate lives for some time but he did not know of the affair with Mr Barker.
She said: “I did have a relationship with him but I came to my senses and it ended. I was incensed to get the letter. It would have been very damaging to my family and friends and to my reputation if he carried out the threats.”
Louise Howard, for the defence, claimed that Mrs Brown had found fault with Mr Barker’s work because she did not want to pay him. She said: “You had recommended Barker to your mother and he did work on her cowshed. And he had done other work for you as well. It was simply a case that you could not afford the extra money at this time.”
The jury took three hours to find Mr Barker not guilty of blackmail.