Aug. 25 (UPI) — A British woman who made several false rape allegations was sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday.
Jemma Beale, 25, claimed she had been sexually assaulted by six men and raped by nine men on four different occasions during a span of three years. Each of the men she accused were strangers, reported the Guardian. But investigators found that the allegations were false, and she was found guilty of four counts of perjury and four counts of perverting the course of justice.
“This trial has revealed, what was then not obvious, that you are a very, very convincing liar and you enjoy being seen as a victim,” Judge Nicholas Loraine-Smith told Beale. “The prosecution described your life as a ‘construct of bogus victimhood.'”
Beale’s false rape allegations led to serious consequences for her victims.
In 2010, Beale accused Mahad Cassim of rape, and he was sentenced to seven years in prison while she received £11,000, or about $14,000, in criminal injuries compensation, reported the Telegraph. In all, Beale’s allegations took up 6,400 hours of police time and cost more than £250,000, or about $320,000.
Cassim was released from prison after two years and nine months when he appealed his conviction in 2013 after police found evidence that Beale was lying about her allegations.
Other accusations led to several arrests and one man fled the country while on bail.
Judge Lorraine-Smith chastised Beale for the false allegations and potential negative impact her case could have on real rape victims.
“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,” he said. “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.”
Meanwhile, Beale maintains her innocence.
“Ms. Beale stands by the claims she made in this matter and if she had her time again she would again plead not guilty to these matters and contest the trial,” said her attorney, Lawrence Henderson.
