Prosecutors have called for a man convicted of blackmailing two children to produce child pornography to be jailed for 12 years.

Cahlii Smith, from St George’s, was found guilty last year of a string of offences, including two counts of extortion, three counts of making child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography and one count of accessing child pornography.

During his trial, the court was told by two victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, that they had been contacted by someone on Facebook who claimed to be a hacker and had accessed intimate images of them from their phones.

The purported hacker then demanded they produce pornographic images and videos or he would release the materials he had on social media.

The girls complied with the demands for months, but the court heard that the materials were released in 2015 after they stopped responding to him.

At the time, both girls were under the age of 16.

Audley Duncan, for the Crown, described Smith’s actions as “repugnant”, noting that his blackmail campaign lasted months and included multiple child victims.

“If blackmail is taken to be inherently serious, then this case would be particularly serious,” Mr Duncan said. “The psychological harm of the victims has been enduring.

One of the girls said in a victim impact statement read out in court: “I wanted to kill myself and even tried on a number of occasions.

“I self-harmed. I hated myself. I just wanted to disappear.”

She said that for years she had to endure rumour and gossip sparked by Smith and his release of the child pornography while his reputation remained unaffected.

The victim said she was bullied, berated and humiliated every day, in person and online.

“Meanwhile, Cahlii was still living his life,” she said. “The groomer, blackmailer and liar was defended and protected because no one cares about young Black girls.“

Even with the trial completed, she said, she feels that she cannot fully put it behind her, comparing her trauma to a tumour.

“The crimes committed against me as a child were not private, but very public for all those on the island and the world to see,” she said.

The second victim said the blackmail and the release of her images and videos had caused lasting mental and emotional harm.

She said Smith’s actions had destroyed her reputation, recalling an incident when a student in her class at high school told her to expose herself to the class because everyone had seen her.

“Even after we had gone to the police the first time and I had to try to explain what happened, I struggled,” she said.

She said she still finds it difficult to trust people, particularly men, saying Smith was someone whom she had trusted and gone to for advice.

Mr Duncan acknowledged that Smith had no previous offences, but argued that his actions were aggravated by the level of culpability and lack of remorse, noting that despite the verdict, Smith maintained his innocence.

He called for a nine-year jail term for the charge of distributing child pornography, along with five-year sentences for manufacturing child pornography and sentences of eight years and six months for the offences of extortion.

Mr Duncan said those sentences should run concurrently, but he argued that the charge of accessing child pornography was separate and should carry a three-year prison term to run consecutive to the other sentences.

He noted that 106 images and 89 videos of child pornography were found on a laptop linked to Smith and that the demand for child pornography fuels incidents of abuse.

“I don’t think that 12 years is by any means an excessive sentence under what was done to these children,” he said.

The hearing is set to resume later this month, with submissions by the defence, who the court heard have suggested a total sentence of six years.

Smith is being held in custody.

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