England: Woman who falsely claimed to have been raped and sexually assaulted 15 times lose appeal against conviction

England: Woman who falsely claimed to have been raped and sexually assaulted 15 times lose appeal against conviction

A judge in the Court of Appeal has said it “beggars belief” that a woman would falsely claim to have been raped and sexually assaulted 15 times in order to claim victim compensation, as her appeal against conviction was rejected.

Jemma Beale, 27, was described as a “serial liar” who in part made up allegations to make her lover jealous. She was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment in 2017 after her lies saw one man serve a two-year jail term and police spend more than £250,000 investigating her false claims.

She was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court of four charges of perjury and four of perverting the course of justice.

At the Court of Appeal yesterday, Gillian Jones QC argued the conviction was unsafe and that the judge should have directed the jury on the “danger of assumptions, myths and stereotypes” relating to sexual offence victims, The Times reports.

Furthermore, she argued that the loss of anonymity caused prejudice to Ms Beale’s defence.

The court, however, rejected these arguments. Lady Justice Hallett said such directions applied to victims – not defendants.

Sitting with Mr Justice Warby and Sir John Royce, the judge said: “The prosecution had a strong case to prove the charges against her, based not on one person’s word against another, but on independent and credible evidence.”

Dismissing an appeal against sentence, Lady Justice Hallett said: “The total of 10 years, although stern, we are satisfied cannot be described as excessive.”

She told the court that Mahad Cassim, one of the men accused of rape by Ms Beale, was tried twice and jailed for seven years.

His conviction was quashed in 2015 after serious doubts were raised over the allegations.

Ms Beale had been awarded £11,000 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority and told a former girlfriend that she had lied to get the money.

Lady Justice Hallett said: “The idea that a woman could send an innocent man to prison for years solely so she could obtain compensation beggars belief.”

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