Fantasist’s ‘grotesque’ rape lies put an innocent man in jail
Woman imprisoned after making up allegations to win pity of her girlfriend
A FANTASIST who invented rape and sexual assault allegations against 15 men to win pity from her girlfriend has been jailed for 10 years.
Jemma Beale, 25, claimed she had been raped by nine men and seriously sexually assaulted by six in four different encounters over the space of three years, causing one man to be wrongly jailed. A judge warned that her “grotesque” string of lies would increase the likelihood of guilty men going free and prevent real victims from reporting such crimes.
Beale’s first victim, Mahad Cassim, served two years and nine months in jail, while she received £11,000 in criminal injuries compensation after the alleged rape.
The court heard that she went on to make a string of false allegations that took up 6,400 hours of police time and cost at least £250,000.
Most lies began “impulsively” following drunken rows with girlfriends as she sought attention and to arouse jealousy. Judge Nicholas Loraine-smith told Beale she was a “very, very convincing liar” and “enjoyed being seen as a victim.”
He added: “What is particularly chilling is the manner in which you persisted in making allegations which you knew were untrue even to the extent of committing and repeating perjury. 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.
“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.”
Beale, from Bedfont, west London, was found guilty last month of four counts of perjury and four counts of perverting the course of justice after a five-week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
She sat with her arms crossed yesterday as she was jailed for a total of 10 years.
DS Kevin Lynott from the Metropolitan Police, which investigated three of the four allegations, said she was a criminal who had “abused the system”. He insisted that each of her claims had been investigated independently and “credible” evidence cast no doubt on her allegations.
He said: “Beale has been exposed as a serial liar and I can only think that she was motivated partly by financial reward, but mainly the attention and control over her partners and family at the time she made the allegations. The impact on those she falsely accused has been devastating … hopefully the outcome fully exonerates all the men she falsely accused of such heinous crimes.”
It was while police were investigating an alleged rape in late 2013 that detectives learned that one of Beale’s former girlfriends had said she lied about being raped by Mr Cassim in 2010.
She was arrested in June 2014 before eventually being charged in March 2016.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Cassim said: “One of my goals is to be a successful businessman, to have a nice family and be happy. I am working on the happiness; I have a long way to go.”