A ‘deceitful' and ‘highly manipulative’ woman who tricked her female friend into a sexual relationship by pretending to be a man and using a prosthetic penis has been jailed for eight years.

Former University of Chester student Gayle Newland, of Hooton Road in Willaston , was inconsolable as she was sentenced for three counts of sexual assault at Chester Crown Court on Thursday (November 12).

A jury found 25-year-old Newland guilty of three counts of assault by penetration which happened in early 2013 following a trial in September, but cleared her of two counts of sexual assault which were alleged to have taken place at the Dene Hotel in Hoole and a Travelodge in Chester city centre.

Use of alter ego

Newland seduced her victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over the internet using a male alter-ego - that of Kye Fortune, who was undergoing treatment for a brain tumour - and demanded she wear a blindfold whenever they met, using a fake penis to sexually assault her.

Related: What do you think of Gayle Newland's sentence?

Newland broke down several times as she waited for Judge Roger Dutton to pass sentence, shouting ‘I’m scared’.

Judge Dutton said Newland played with her victim’s affections, acting ‘entirely for her own’ sexual satisfaction and choosing to ignore the ‘devastating impact that the eventual discovery of the truth would have on her’.

Gayle Newland arriving at Chester Crown Court during her trial in September
Newland arriving at Chester Crown Court during her trial in September

He branded her an ‘intelligent, obsessional, highly manipulative, deceitful, scheming and thoroughly determined young woman’.

Her victim, he said, was ‘particularly vulnerable’ and Newland committed a ‘callous’ breach of the trust she had in Newland as a friend.

Judge Dutton said the aggravating features of the case were that the offences occurred in the victim’s home, and the publicity it attracted meant that she can no longer remain in the Chester area ‘through fear of ridicule’.

He added: “Throughout these activities you were so convincing in your cruel deception of her that she believed that she had at last found a man she could love and be with.

“I am quite sure that the psychological impact of her experience has been severe and will be long-lasting.”

As she awaited her sentence in the dock, she broke down and shouted ‘I’m scared’.

Prosecutor Matthew Corbett-Jones read extracts from the victim’s impact statement to the court.

She revealed that the trial had acted as a trigger for her to self-harm and she has not been able to move on, in spite of the guilty verdicts.

She said she felt ‘hopeless’ and ‘trapped in an invisible prison of Gayle’s making’.

Psychological problems

Newland’s defence counsel Nigel Power QC said in mitigation that his client’s offending is ‘so clearly linked’ to the psychological problems she has experienced for around a decade.

He referred to psychiatric reports which identified Newland as suffering from social anxiety disorder, general anxiety disorder, major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder and eating disorder symptoms.

The reports also highlighted her ‘blurred gender lines’ when she was growing up, as well as her struggles to come to terms with her sexuality.

Mr Power said that the level of press attention surrounding the case has had a ‘crushing’ effect on Newland and she worries how it will impact on making new friends and employment prospects.

Newland was handed eight years in custody for each of three counts, to be served concurrently.

She will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which Judge Dutton said will last ‘indefinitely’, as will her obligation to report regularly to police upon her release.

Victim's bravery praised

Det Insp Clare Coleman, head of Cheshire Constabulary’s Dedicated Rape Unit, said the sentence reflects the ‘seriousness’ of Newland’s crimes but urged people to remember that there is a victim at the heart of the case.

“This was a highly elaborate deception where Newland abused the trust that the victim had in her,” she said.

“She has been extremely upset by what has happened and there is no doubt that there will be a lasting psychological impact on her.

“I would like to thank the victim for her bravery and co-operation throughout the investigation.”