Gayle Newland: Sex attacker who posed as man lodges new appeal

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-34901925

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A woman who was jailed after posing as a man to dupe a friend into having sex with her has lodged an appeal against her sentence.

Gayle Newland was jailed for eight years on 12 November after being convicted of three sexual assaults.

The 25-year-old, of Willaston, Cheshire, demanded her victim wear a blindfold when they met and used a prosthetic penis during the assaults.

Newland previously applied for leave to appeal against her conviction.

That appeal will be heard before judges at London's Court of Appeal and, if successful will make her sentence appeal redundant.

However, if the second appeal is heard it could result in her jail term being raised or lowered.

During Newland's four-day trial, Chester Crown Court heard she and her victim spent more than 100 hours with each other, in hotels and the victim's flat.

The deception was only uncovered when the victim ripped off her blindfold to see Newland.

Newland had fooled her victim by posing as a man called Kye Fortune, using a bogus Facebook account, wearing an elaborate disguise and insisting the blindfold was worn throughout meetings.

In mitigation, Newland told the court her accuser was fully aware she was a woman and that they both struggled with their sexuality.

She maintained the pair were engaged in consensual "role play" and "fantasy".