Man who extorted thousands from Alberta women he met on web gets 12 years

EDMONTON – A man who befriended Alberta women on dating websites and extorted thousands of dollars from them has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison.

Shannon Bradford Dixon, who is 36, pleaded guilty to charges that included extortion, fraud, bestiality, sexual assault and obstructing justice.

Court in Edmonton heard in an agreed statement of facts that Dixon began a number of the relationships on the dating website Plenty Of Fish.

He told widowed or divorced mothers that he was a helicopter pilot, but later claimed he was a drug dealer, who wanted out of the business and needed cash to pay debts.

In some of the cases, he threatened to post nude photos online that he’d taken or send them to employers.

One of the victims ultimately lost over $230,000 to Dixon.

Some of the victims found out about each other online and reported Dixon to police.

The charges spanned a period of three years beginning in 2008.