To some, the name Ronald Oates brings memories of a bright, creative young man who lost his mother to the gun, but to the police, he is the alleged mastermind behind a scheme involving the hacking of people's computers.

Oates is presently behind bars after being denied bail when he appeared before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday to answer to charges stemming from alleged breaches of the Cybercrime and Larceny acts

He is accused of extorting a total of $150,000 from his victims which reportedly include celebrities and other popular social figures, to prevent the release of explicit photographs. Investigators say,so far, only 25 persons have come forward, even though their probe has revealed that hundreds of persons had been targeted.

But for some persons who knew him from school days, he was an intellegent individual who worked hard at trying to make money.

mek some money

"From school days, dem man deh a 'hustla'. Bright youth eno. Dem man deh did always inna some link fi mek some money, either him did a sell supn' or have links fi get supn'," said Mark Marcus, a 26-year-old past student of Ardenne High School, St Andrew, where Oates received his secondary level education.

Another source said; "I won't lie, at first I was surprised when I read the reports and saw his picture ..." She, however, went on to say that after thinking back to their school days, she remembered him as someone who worked hard at making money.

Oates is the son of Constable Karen Tingle, who met her death while on her way to work. She was fatally shot on East Road in Kingston on April 19, 2001. Government prosecutors had led evidence in 2004 that there was a plot to kill the policewoman.

A man who was accused of committing the crime was placed on trial for murder but was cleared on July 6, 2004, in the Home Circuit Court.

He is also the son of the once popular footballer Ronald Oates, who represented the Boys' Town and Cavalier football clubs in the late 1970s and 1980s.

The younger Oates was previously charged with larceny from a previous case.

In the present case, the police allege that Oates hacked into persons email accounts and threatened to post nude photos of them that he took from their accounts if they did not pay him. He is also alleged to have encouraged persons to post nude photos and pornographic videos of others on his blog and then demanded $10,000 and $20,000 from the persons whose images were posted to have them removed.

He was charged last Friday and is to return to court on September 18.

Names changed