Pretend boyfriends and prosthetic penises: The strangest crime of all time

Baffled lawyers described it as “extraordinary” and the “strangest” courtroom drama they’d ever seen.

Chester grad Gayle Newland, 25, was found guilty of sexual assault after pretending to be a man and having sex with a woman using a prosthetic penis.

Gayle hid behind a disguise and a strap-on to fool the unnamed woman for two years.

And it gets stranger.

To hide the fact that she was clearly a woman, Gayle ordered her victim to wear a blindfold mask every time they had sex.

And to avoid any bodily touching, she claimed cancer had left her with severe muscle wastage.

Gayle took on the persona of an Asian man named “Kye Fortune”, donning a woolly hat as well as bandages to disguise her female body.

After somehow keeping up the charade for a staggering two years, her partner tore off the mask and was horrified to find her boyfriend was actually her girlfriend.

During the trial, which appears to come straight out of a budget legal drama, Gayle’s defence claimed her victim knew exactly what was going on and that they were merely acting out a “fantasy” – with her roleplaying as a man.

On the surface this does seem like a plausible explanation. How could she possibly have not known the man she met was actually a woman and how could she possibly be deceived by a prosthetic penis?

But it appears Gayle’s disguise was extremely thorough.

At one point during early stages of the deceptive affair, Gayle – minus the disguise –  actually met the victim in person to help seal the charade.

And far from revealing the truth, she claimed she was “Kye’s” close female friend.

When “Kye’s” high pitched voice was questioned, Gayle simply put it down to her character’s Filipino heritage.

Most of us know someone who has been catfished in some shape or form, having their identity stolen on the internet or even by speaking to someone who isn’t exactly what they claim to be.

The court heard how Gayle even masterminded fake profiles for “Kye” brother and even told the victim her character had gone into intensive care on one occasion.

So bizarrely, what started as just chatting online eventually developed into full blown sex.

There were strict rules in place. The blindfold stayed on and she didn’t touch his penis”, according to prosecutor Matthew Corbett-Jones.

They had sex multiple times at hotels around Chester and later even at the victim’s home.

And they would even lie together in bed watching TV, despite the victim being blindfolded at the time.

After two years the woman eventually unmasked “Kye” and discovered Gayle’s true identity.

The victim told police: “Even though it was Gayle, it wasn’t Gayle and it wasn’t Kye. I just didn’t know who this person was. This was a stranger to me who had just had sex with me.”