Bid to blackmail model leads to two-year term

BERLIN — A German man who tried to blackmail supermodel Cindy Crawford with a photo of her bound and gagged 7-year-old daughter was sentenced to two years in jail Tuesday.

Additional Photos

Supermodel Cindy Crawford carries her daughter Kaya Gerber in October 2006. A photo of the bound child taken during a “cops and robbers” game was used in an extortion plot. The Associated Press

Edis Kayalar AP

Edis Kayalar, 26, was found guilty after confessing that he tried to extort $135,000 from Crawford and her husband, Rande Gerber, last year.

A U.S. affidavit filed in the case said Kayalar believed he could have received $500,000 from the tabloids for the photograph and that he deserved money from Crawford and her husband. Kayalar said he “was not trying to destroy a little girl’s life, but the release of the photograph was not going to be something positive for the victims’ image,” according to the document.
The picture, which showed the child gagged and tied to a chair, was reportedly taken by a former nanny during a “cops and robbers” game.

Kayalar lived illegally in the U.S. from 2007 to 2009, had an affair with the nanny and stole the photo from her last year, Judge Joachim Spieth told The Associated Press.

In July 2009, Gerber met Kayalar, paid him $1,000 “for his troubles” and got a print of the photo. But Kayalar came back asking for more – $135,000. Because that sum was never paid out, Kayalar was sentenced only for attempted extortion, the judge said.

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