An Ohio woman convicted of extorting thousands of dollars from a Greenwich investor last year and violating her probation narrowly escaped a jail sentence Monday when she faced a judge in state Superior Court.
Dawn Jessop, 29, of Mansfield, stood silently as prosecutors said they would agree to a conditional discharge, a more serious form of probation that would allow Jessop to return home to Ohio instead of going to prison.
Assistant State's Attorney David Applegate said after speaking with the lawyer for the victim, they agreed that a five-year suspended jail sentence after four years of conditional discharge would be fair.
However, Applegate stressed that Jessop could not profit from her former crime and not contact the victim, Stephen Dent.
Jessop, who changed her hair from blonde to brown for the appearance, told a judge she understood the conditions. Her husband, Christopher Jessop, looked on from the benches.
Judge Richard Comerford said he would concur with prosecutors, but hinted that he had a different, more serious punishment in mind for Jessop initially.
Following the sentencing, Jessop's attorney, Mark Sherman, said the duo is looking forward to putting this case behind them.
"Hopefully this provides closure to what was an embarrassing chapter in my clients' lives," Sherman said. "Dawn and Chris are now looking forward to returning to Ohio to live honest, offline lives."
The Jessops were convicted of first-degree larceny last year after police said the duo duped former Riverside resident Dent after meeting him on www.SeekingArrangement.com, an "elite sugar daddy dating website" where men can pay women for companionship.
In May 2009, Christopher Jessop was sentenced to 18 months in jail, while Dawn Jessop, who was referred to as Dent's "sugar baby," received three years of probation and a suspended jail term of five years.
When Dawn Jessop returned to Ohio, however, she faced a felony drug charge and was placed on probation in Ohio. Then, according to the Mansfield News Journal, Jessop was arrested in September 2009 after Ohio police found she broke her curfew, drove with a restricted license and had pornography on her cell phone. Police also found OxyContin in the car. Once Connecticut authorities learned of the Ohio case, a judge ordered her re-arrest. She admitted to the violation in August, but it was unclear if she would face jail time.
After Dawn Jessop befriended Dent on the Internet, the pair blackmailed him with pictures and chat records until he wired them $50,000.
When the Jessops drove to Connecticut to collect more money, police intervened.
Dent had a network of women, or "slaves," he chatted with on the website, and police records showed he paid upward of $200,000 in exchange for companionship and in some cases, for sex. He was never charged with a crime. Dent has been extorted several times as a result of his relationships online.
While the Jessop chapter of the case is now over, a woman dubbed the "head slave" of the online group currently faces charges, but has opted to take her case to trial. Patricia Miller, of Michigan, is also charged with extorting Dent. It is not clear when the trial will be scheduled, according to her lawyer.
"Despite accusations that Patricia was the chief sex slave in this virtual harem, her conduct never rose to the level of being criminal," said Sherman, who also represents Miller. "To each their own, especially behind the closed doors of Internet chat rooms."
0 Comments