A BLACKMAILER will be sentenced next month after he was convicted of making his victim's life a "living hell".
Barrie Lee, 30, went on trial at Carlisle Crown Court earlier this week. He denied charges of blackmail, assault, theft and putting a person in fear of violence by harassment.
But having heard all the evidence in the case, a jury today found Lee unanimously guilty of all the crimes.
Jurors had earlier watched a tape-recorded interview the victim gave police. Often tearful, he said of Lee: "He has made my life such a living hell that I don't really care any more."
Judge Peter Hughes QC adjourned the case and asked for background information to be prepared before passing sentence.
Lee, of Gable Avenue, Cockermouth, will learn his fate on January 20, and will remain in custody until then.
But he heard Judge Hughes say that "the outcome is inevitable".
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