A woman from south-east London has been found guilty of trying to have an ex-colleague raped, after she believed that the colleague was responsible for her losing her temporary job.
Joanne Berry has been sentenced to six years in jail, after she went online pretending she wanted to take part in “some sort of rape scenario”. Berry went on to give out the victim’s address on sex chatrooms and tried to lure men into taking part, telling them she would act as if she wasn’t willing to take part.
The court heard that in one conversation, which included the victim’s address, Berry said: “Grab me by the neck and really scare and intimidate me. Interested? Then you basically have free rein.”
The victim was visited by twice by men interested in taking part, but fortunately both men were quick to realise they’d been set up and that the victim was not previously consenting in a rape sex game.
Speaking to the court, Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said:
“That (the victim) was not in fact raped or seriously sexually assaulted is entirely fortuitous,” pointing out that this was clearly what Berry intended and that she had succeeded in causing substantial trauma to the victim.
The court learned that since the incident, the victim is now terrified of being alone, suffering panic attacks and distress whenever strangers arrive at her door.
Berry was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court after being found guilty of committing an assault with the intention of committing a sexual offence, common assault and attempting to cause a person to engage in sexual activity without consent.
Berry will now have to sign the sex offenders list indefinitely and may be barred from working with children in the future.
