British woman jailed for pretending to be a man

[moodygirl86]

I have mixed feelings about this story...

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/ju ... ed-1777820

For anyone who can't get the link to work, the defendant - Justine McNally - dressed up as a man, calling herself Scott, in order to get another young woman into bed. They were 16 and 17 when they first slept together. They met online, aged 12 and 13, and eventually in person four years later. A relationship developed, with McNally promising they would eventually marry and have children. About six months after the fact, the victim's mother realised the truth when she found a woman's top, bra and sex toy belonging to McNally, who was arrested and was yesterday jailed for 3 years for assault by sexual penetration.

Now, first of all, I agree that what McNally did was disgusting. She lied to somebody who had come to love and trust her; and I can totally understand why the victim - and yes, she is a victim in the moral and ethical sense - would never want to see her again. It's the worst kind of betrayal. And it's true that the other woman would never have slept with her if she had known the truth. But I do not believe McNally should have got locked up. Both women were consenting adults when they first consummated the relationship, for a start. Yes, it was all built on a lie, but what about people who lie about being single? That's despicable but you can't jail them all for it.

Ultimately, I think both women are going to need a lot of help. The unnamed one who was lied to and betrayed, because she will have serious difficulty trusting anybody, but also McNally herself. What she did was extremely selfish and deceitful, but she is obviously an extremely troubled, unhappy soul. I don't know if she is gay and unable to admit it, or transgender; but I feel she needs counselling or therapy, not prison.

What do others make of this case?

[Guest Anonymous]

The article says she was jailed for sexual assault (as opposed to "pretending to be a man" per se). Is there more to it than the Mirror reports...? I'm off to have a look.

[moodygirl86]

Well, I first read it in yesterday's Metro, which gave a bit more detail. It said "assault by penetration", in reference to the sex toy; which is where the deception element of it comes in. However, I can't find any evidence anywhere that she physically coerced/intimidated her into anything. She lied/grossly misrepresented herself, which was wrong, but I don't think she should be thrown in jail for that. Particularly not when people who have done far worse get away with community service as per link below.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/r ... 280321.ece

[Guest Anonymous]

Not much more is reported in the Telegraph. The prosecution argued that she obtained sexual consent by fraud. She admitted six counts of sexual assault.

The whole story is disturbing and I agree, while what the offender did was very wrong, both young women will need help after this.

I'm wondering if this is possibly the sort of case where, because of her young age, unusual situation and lack of resources the defendant may have made a plea early on, without getting full legal counsel. I think there is another, similar case at the moment, with the defendant pleading guilty to some charges but in her defence claiming to be struggling due to Gender Identity Disorder.

This case, I think? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... hears.html

[moodygirl86]

I know it's not the same thing, but the first man I fell in love with lied to me to get me into bed. He let me think he was single, when in fact his girlfriend was away at university in Derby; which made it easier for him to get away with. So I thought I was his girlfriend for two years when in fact I was the other woman. I found out by accident, and was devastated. I hated him for what he did, and I still do. There's no way in hell I would have gone out with him/slept with him had I known the truth. What he did to both me and his girlfriend was ten kinds of disgusting. That's technically obtaining someone's sexual intimacy by fraud, and he didn't even have the excuse of being sexually confused AFAIK. But I also don't believe he should go to prison for it.

On another note, I think the woman in the Telegraph article ought to be prosecuted, purely because she is going after underage victims, regardless of gender/trans status.