Paul Iera, a 36-year-old resident of New South Wales, found himself in a precarious situation when he decided to orchestrate his own kidnapping as an excuse to spend time with someone other than his partner.
In a bizarre turn of events, his girlfriend's response to his deceit led to his apprehension by law enforcement.
Iera's misguided scheme involved sending messages to his partner under the guise of "his captors," claiming he was being held hostage by "Middle Eastern men he didn't know" over a $7,000 dirt bike.
What did the text message say?
The text message he sent read: "Just so you know, Paul is with us. He will stay with us until morning, when he will give us his motorcycle. We will not hurt him."
Unsurprisingly, Iera's partner reacted in a way any rational person would – by contacting the police. Law enforcement promptly launched an investigation and spent several days attempting to locate the supposedly abducted man.
Eventually, police teams managed to track him down in his car, where they also obtained photographs of him in the company of a woman who provided paid sexual services.
How did police react?
Subsequently, Iera was arrested and brought before a judge, who did not mince his words, telling Iera that he chose to send disturbing and frightening messages to his partner all so he could spend time with another woman.
He went on to emphasize that any reasonable person would have gone to the police, and lo and behold, look what happened.
"Look at yourself and your actions and start working on who you are, or alternatively, a prison sentence is a very real option," the judge said.
Iera faced legal repercussions for his ill-conceived actions. He was fined A$16,000 for wasting police time and an additional A$550 for the offense of possessing a firearm and ammunition without a license.
Furthermore, he received a sentence of 18 months of community service as part of a community order.