Gayle Newland: Woman who pretended to be a man to have sex with her friend is jailed for eight years

Ms Newland disguised her appearance and voice during around 10 sexual encounters

Gayle Newland, 25, persuaded her victim to wear a blindfold throughout the more than 100 hours they spent together

A woman who pretended to be a man to trick her female friend into having sex with her has been jailed for eight years.

Gayle Newland, 25, put on a deep voice and used a prosthetic penis and blindfold across almost a dozen sexual encounters during their two-year relationship.

She denied five counts of sexual assault, insisting her accuser always knew she was pretending and was a willing participant in sexual roleplay.

But a jury at Chester Crown Court rejected her defence and convicted her on three counts.

Sentencing Newland, Judge Roger Dutton labelled her "an intelligent, obsessional, highly manipulative, deceitful, scheming and thoroughly determined young woman".

Newland's 25-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she had been made to wear a blindfold the entire time the pair spent together, even when they sunbathed and "watched" a film at her flat.

She told the court the deception was only broken when she pulled off the blindfold during sex to see her friend Gayle wearing a strap-on prosthetic. "It's not what you think," Gayle allegedly explaimed.

In an earlier hearing, Judge Dutton warned Newland that imprisonment was inevitable, but had adjourned the case for pre-sentencing reports explaining that the accused had “serious issues surrounding her personality”.

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