AN 18-year-old man who conspired with two teenage children of a prominent Sydney barrister to extort $15,000 from a wealthy north shore mother using pornographic photos says he is ''extremely sorry'' and will ''accept his penalty''.
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Kyung (Kevin) Hoon Lee, of South Turramurra, faces up to 14 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to delivering the extortion letter to the victim's $4 million Hunters Hill home on May 29.
The woman was told to leave $15,000 in a toilet cistern in the Hunters Hill Hotel or 2000 prints of the ''disturbing photos'' would be released ''to your neighbours, your family, your community and the peers of your children, including school teachers''.
Lee appeared in Ryde Local Court yesterday while the 15-year-old girl and her 17-year-old brother will appear in Hornsby Children's Court today.
Police said the barrister's children had friends in common with the woman's 17-year-old daughter - an inner city private school student - and these friends had previously been inside the home.
Lee said he knew the 17-year-old boy through ''rapping''.
The woman's husband reported the blackmail to the police and a covert operation was set up to catch the offenders.
At 5pm on May 30, the girl allegedly walked into a unisex toilet in the hotel's gaming area and ripped apart a package that had been put in the cistern. She was arrested by plainclothes police after leaving empty handed.
After her arrest, police say the boy made 12 short phone calls and sent two text messages to his father, who was in chambers.
About an hour later, the victim's husband allegedly received a telephone call from one of the male offenders, who said, ''You used undercover cops, f--- you, f--- you. You tell [victim] she is dead.''
Documents tendered to the court said the pornographic pictures of the woman were taken by her husband and were stolen from their home, although it was unknown by who or when.
A copy of the extortion letter with the file name ''threat letter MILF'' was allegedly found on an Apple laptop computer used by the siblings and discovered by police during a search of the family's city apartment.
Numerous mobile phones and SIM cards, three Viagra tablets and two electronic storage devices containing a total of 307 photos were also allegedly found.
The boy is yet to enter a plea to charges of demand property with menaces with intent to steal, possess identity information to commit indictable offence and possess prescribed restricted substance.
The girl has pleaded not guilty to demand property with menaces with intent to steal and minor enter a restricted area of a hotel.
Outside the court, Lee's lawyer, Alexander Harmstorf, said: ''He's extremely sorry and he will be back on the 21st [of] September to accept his penalty.''
