LONDON, May 2 (UPI)

Two men were sentenced to five years in prison Friday for attempting to blackmail a member of the British royal family with a videotape that alleged he is gay.

Ian Strachan and Sean McGuigan were convicted of demanding money with menaces, the BBC reported. Prosecutors said the defendants demanded 50,000 pounds ($100,000) from their unnamed victim after trying to sell the videotape to tabloid newspapers.

The judge, who described the victim as “particularly susceptible,” said the crime demanded a prison term.

“Although they claimed to be acting in the interests of the victim, the jury rejected this story and agreed with the prosecution that they were simply interested in the money,” Mark Carroll of the Crown Prosecution Service said after the verdict.

Strachan and McGuigan were arrested after meeting with a police officer posing as a representative of the victim.

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