Rhiannon Brooker made allegations against Paul Fensome because she was doing badly in barrister training, it is claimed

A law graduate falsely accused her boyfriend of rape and assault as an excuse for doing poorly in her barrister training, a jury has been told.

The untrue allegations made by Rhiannon Brooker meant that her boyfriend, Paul Fensome, was arrested, charged and held in prison for 30 days, it is claimed.

Brooker denies 20 charges of intending to pervert the course of justice relating to 11 accusations of rape and nine of assault.

David Bartlett, prosecuting, told the jury that Brooker took a law degree in Birmingham before moving to Bristol to train to become a barrister.

Bartlett said: "The prosecution says that one of the reasons for her false allegations was that she was living an active social life in Bristol and not doing the work required to pass the assessments, so she falsified the allegations in order to give substance to her extenuating circumstances forms."

Brooker told fellow students she had been assaulted and raped and she sometimes had physical injuries. She also claimed Fensome had punched her in the ribs when she was pregnant, causing her to lose the baby.

She eventually went to the police and made allegations against Fensome. But alibis, evidence from his phone and his work shift patterns undermined or disproved some of the allegations, it was claimed. Some of her injuries were judged to have been self-inflicted and the police discontinued their investigations.

When she was arrested, Brooker, of south Gloucestershire, told police in a prepared statement: "The allegations were not true and I am sorry I made them. I find it very difficult to understand why I said these things.

"I believe that in some funny way I have hit out against Paul as he was close to me – the nearest target of those unresolved feelings of anger – and I regret the hurt that I've caused him as a result.

"I am trying to work hard with these feelings and I understand that they have to be resolved and put behind me. Ordinarily I am a truthful and honest person which makes it all the more difficult for me to understand how this has happened."

Bartlett told the jury at Bristol crown court that Brooker's training meant she had a good knowledge of the law. He said: "Her knowledge of criminal law and procedure derived from her law degree course in Birmingham and was likely to be greater than that of most rape complainants. The prosecution alleges that she knew that the course of justice was being perverted and intended to pervert the course of justice throughout that period."

He added: "We suggest that the defendant has an inherent tendency to fabricate allegations and needs always to be the centre of attention. She has never lost that tendency or need, with disastrous consequences for herself and those around her.

"The fact of her detailed, prolonged and damaging false allegations against Mr Fensome profoundly affected him and his family. They also caused the police to expend much time on the investigation of a litany of complaints."

The trial continues.