This is the bizarre story of how a Cheshire, England woman was convicted of sexual assault after pretending to be a man in order to trick her friend into having sex with her. If you’re already confused, we’ll try to explain.

It all started when Gayle Newland, 25, created a fake male Facebook profile using the name “Kye Fortune.” One would think that the name alone would scream “catfish” to any reasonable MTV-watching millennial, but instead Newland chatted up females with ease, later claiming that it was easier to meet women that way since she was struggling to come to terms with her identity as a lesbian. Then in 2011 she sent her victim, who has chosen to remain anonymous for obvious reasons, a friend request.

Gayle Newland GUILTY of sexual assault after pretending to … http://t.co/YAbSGBda9q | https://t.co/apGmzF9vUw pic.twitter.com/YFZjhWV5xG

— Nicole Williams (@NcoleWilliams) September 16, 2015

At some point the pair entered into an online relationship, but whenever the victim tried to make plans to meet up, “Kye” would make up wild excuses for why they couldn’t–like “he” was in a car accident and had a brain tumor. Then “Kye” introduced the victim to “his” best friend, who just so happened to be (cue drumroll)….you guessed it, Newland. The women later met up and developed their own friendship. When the couple did finally meet and agreed to have consensual sex, the victim was forced to wear a blindfold and agreed not to touch “Kye” because “he” was self conscious about his body.

According to Daily Mail the complainant told the court,

Every time I met up with Kye Fortune I either had the mask on already or he would wait outside the door and I would put it on. I was so desperate to be loved. It’s pathetic, so desperate for love, so desperate.

Then one day mid-tryst something in her gut finally seemed off, so she decided to pull off her blindfold. She told police officers,

I pulled it off and Gayle was standing there with a strap-on prosthetic penis. I just couldn’t believe it.

Looking back on it she should have seen the signs. She told the that jury that both “Kye” and Newland “shared the same birth date, both liked RnB music and ‘chick flicks’ and both had a dog named Gypsy.”

During her trial, Newman affirmed that her victim knew that she was a female and that they both willingly participating in the role play. However her victim remained adamant in court that she was deceived saying,

If I had known it was a woman, with a strap-on (prosthetic penis), having penetrative sex with me, I would never have carried on. It’s not something that I judge anyone for but it is not something I am into.

The jury found Newman guilty of three counts of sexual assault, and now she could face several years in jail. But from an outsider’s perspective, the guilty verdict came as a surprise. It’s hard to understand how the victim didn’t know that she was having sex with a female, especially when the pair cuddled on several occasions–which involves close physical contact. It’s also hard to understand how Newland could have been found guilty of sexual assault when the sex was consensual. Even the lawyers involved found the case bizarre, saying it was the “the strangest they had ever done,” while the judge described it as “extraordinary” to the jury.

Usually a guilty verdict has a way of answering questions or providing closure to a case, but in this instance, we’re left still scratching our heads over the logistics of this case.

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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