A former University of Chester student found guilty of pretending to be a man to sexually assault her female friend will be sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Thursday, November 12.
Gayle Newland, of Hooton Road in Willaston, was convicted of three counts relating to sexual assaults at her victim’s flat in Chester in 2013.
The 25-year-old was acquitted of two counts which were alleged to have taken place at the Dene Hotel in Hoole and a Travelodge in the city centre.
Over a period of two years, she used an alter ego – a half-Asian, half-Filipino man called Kye Fortune who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumour – to befriend her victim via Facebook and go on to have a sexual relationship with her.
False identity
Newland requested that her victim wear a blindfold whenever they met in order to conceal her true identity.
Sentencing was adjourned after the jury returned its verdict on September 15 so she could undergo psychiatric assessment.
Judge Roger Dutton explained at the time: “The defendant has so many serious issues, we need to get to the bottom of some of them at least.”
Newland is on bail on the condition that she does not communicate on the internet with anyone using a false identity.
