Court of appeal will consider Gayle Newland’s legal challenge against eight-year prison term next month

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A woman who was jailed for duping her friend into having sex by pretending to be a man is to appeal against her prison sentence.

Gayle Newland, 26, was jailed for eight years after she tricked her friend for two years by disguising her appearance and voice and persuading the woman to wear a blindfold whenever they met.



The pair had sex about 10 times until the complainant took off her mask and saw Newland wearing a prosthetic penis, the trial at Chester crown court heard.

Judge Roger Dutton described Newland as “an intelligent, obsessional, highly manipulative, deceitful, scheming and thoroughly determined young woman” as he jailed her for eight years in November.



Newland, from Willaston in Cheshire, has maintained her innocence despite being found guilty by a jury of three counts of sexual assault.

Her legal challenge will be heard at the court of appeal on 12 October at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Three judges will consider the strength of the former University of Chester student’s conviction and and whether sentence exceeded judicial sentencing guidelines.

Newland claimed her accuser always knew she was pretending to be a man as they engaged in role play while struggling with their sexuality.



She told the trial last September that no blindfold was used and said she did not strap bandages to her chest or wear a woollen hat and swimsuit.

The trial heard that Newland created a bogus Facebook profile in the name of Kye Fortune and mimicked a man’s voice to speak on the phone with the victim a number of times after their first contact in 2011.

The complainant told the jury that when they finally decided to meet in February 2013, Newland, posing as Kye, asked her to wear a blindfold, claiming to be insecure about his looks after undergoing brain surgery.

They were said to have spent more than 100 hours together and the encounters would include the complainant wearing a blindfold while they watched television and even when sunbathing.