A successful ‘comedy hypnotist’ who boasts of ‘messing with people’s minds’ is today unmasked as an internet predator who stole women’s intimate photos and sold them for thousands of pounds.

Robert Temple – a growing theatre sensation for his ‘outrageous’ stage show – hit the headlines last month when he successfully persuaded a town hall to overturn a four decade-long ban on stage hypnosis.

But Mail Online can today reveal that Temple’s hit Red Raw tour – named after his trademark dyed red hair – was brought to a juddering halt this week when he was jailed for eight months after admitting hacking and fraud.

Unsuspecting audiences in Burton-on-Trent – where the 36-year-old was due on-stage tonight – plus Clacton and Weymouth were simply told the shows had been cancelled ‘due to unforeseen circumstances’.

However the scale of his betrayal will leave fans shocked, with detectives suspecting Temple may have preyed on more women than the two who have so far come forward.

While he did not use his gift for hypnotism for crime – he never even met one victim – police believe he exploited other skills from his stage show.

‘He didn’t have particular computing skills, so we think it was his ability to focus in on people’s personal information that enabled him to work out passwords,’ a source said.

‘He had a gift for social engineering which is undoubtedly part of his success as an entertainer, but unfortunately he’s exploited it in a very cruel manner.’

Among his victims is 29-year-old Ellie Norman, from Lincolnshire.

She inadvertently fell into Temple’s clutches as a result of having mutual Facebook friends from when she was at university.

While looking for a part-time job, she was contacted by a woman with whom she shared several friends offering her modelling work.

She turned down the offer – but later discovered her private photos had been used to set up Snapchat, Instagram and Tinder accounts in her name.

‘Friends told me about the fake profiles, they were really creepy,’ she told the Mail.

‘There was lots of information about me, right down to the name of my dog.’

It was only after detectives from the East Midlands cyber-crime unit contacted her in 2022 that she realised the woman was actually Temple, using a fake identity suspected to have been created using stolen details.

‘They asked if I was involved in crypto currency,’ she told the Mail. ‘I wouldn’t have a clue where to start. 

‘But even though I’d done nothing wrong, for a moment I went into panic mode – I thought “Could I end up going to prison?” It was really scary.

‘Then they realised my social media and my email had been hacked by Temple.

‘It’s scary to think what else he’s done with my identity and my photos, all without my knowledge.’

In 2021, detectives received a call via Action Fraud about a seedy online forum where anonymous users request intimate photographs of specific, named women in return for payment in untraceable cryptocurrency.

They established that Temple had hacked into the Snapchat accounts of Miss Norman and a second woman and stolen their photographs – in the case of the second, unnamed victim, showing her topless and nude.

He then used the details of one of his victims to set up a cryptocurrency account in order to receive payments running into thousands of pounds.

‘The worst thing was getting the call from the police for something I knew nothing about,’ said Miss Norman, an IT support worker who is engaged to Liam Atkin.

‘I’m just glad that he’s now locked up where he can’t target anyone else.

‘I’ve learnt my lesson that you have to set really strong passwords, nothing that anyone could ever guess, and be much more careful about what I share online.

‘I never even met Temple, I’ve never even been to one of his shows, but what he’s done to me is appalling.

‘I’ve got no idea what else he’s done with my photos and private information, who else he’s tried to con.

‘I want people to know how manipulative he is so they’re on their guard when he is released.’

Last year Temple, of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, admitted two counts of hacking, three counts of fraud and one count of converting criminal property.

On Monday he was jailed for eight months at Teesside Crown Court.

Detectives believe he was expecting a suspended sentence, enabling him to continue with his stage tour.

Temple began performing magic shows as a young child, later telling interviewers that despite his father being a computer programmer and his stepmother a teacher, both supported his ambitions to become an entertainer.

He later decided to specialise in hypnotism, coming up with his trademark bright red dyed hair to make his ‘outrageous’ stage persona more memorable.

Temple hit the headlines last month when he challenged Bolton council over a ban on any show which includes ‘hypnotism, mesmerism and any similar act which produces induced sleep or trance’ that would make someone ‘susceptible to suggestion or direction’ which dated back to 1982.

Days before 200 people were booked to see Temple’s show at the town’s Albert Halls, a licensing panel voted unanimously to allow the show – described as ‘improvised comedy under the influence of hypnosis’ – to go ahead.

At the time, chairman Sean Fielding said the regulation seemed ‘arcane and dated’ and apologised to Temple.

After the case, Det Insp Jonathan Naylor said ‘This man was operating on an online forum to targeting women.

‘He would receive a specific request and hack social media accounts in order to obtain personal and explicit photos in exchange for crypto currency.’

According to police, 22,530 people reported that their online accounts had been hacked last year, with cyber criminals often using information from data breaches, leaked passwords and details obtained from phishing.

They have urged people to protect themselves online by using strong and different password for email and social media accounts, and turning on two-step verification.

Anyone who believes they were also targeted by Temple or other members of the forum have been urged to report it to Action Fraud online or by calling 0300 123 2040.

Annette Thomas, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS East Midlands, said: ‘The actions of Robert Temple were utterly reprehensible.

‘Using insidious tactics, he exploited these unsuspecting women by hacking into their social media accounts and sharing intimate images of them online, without their knowledge, all for financial greed.

‘Let this conviction be clear to those who hide behind a screen to commit their crimes, you cannot hide from the law and the Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work to achieve justice for victims of cybercrime.’