UK woman Jemma Beale claimed she had been sexually assaulted by six men and raped by nine, in four different encounters from 2013.Â
But a Southwark crown court has found Ms Beale’s allegations to be false, and the 25-year-old woman will spend 10 years in jail after being found guilty of perjury and perverting the course of justice.Â
As the BBC reports, Ms Beale’s allegations led to one of the men being jailed for seven years. He later appealed his conviction and had his sentenced overturned in 2015.Â
During sentencing, judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith told the court: “This trial has revealed, what was then not obvious, that you are a very, very convincing liar and you enjoy being seen as a victim.”
Judge Smith said that Ms Beale’s offences had often started as a “drunken attempt” to elicit the sympathy of her partner, or possibly to arouse her jealousy.Â
“These false allegations of rape, false allegations which will inevitably be widely publicised, are likely to have the perverse impact of increasing the likelihood of guilty men going free,” he explained.
“Cases such as this bring a real risk that a woman who has been raped or sexually assaulted may not complain to the police for fear of not being believed.”
Ms Beale’s defence, Lawrence Henderson, told the court that his client has maintained her innocence and that she was considering an appeal, The Guardian reports.
“Ms Beale stands by the claims she made in this matter and if she had her time again she would again plead not guilty to these matters and contest the trial,” he said.
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