Althouse: "A woman jailed for allegedly duping her friend into believing she was a man and having sex with her using a prosthetic penis has had her conviction quashed."

October 12, 2016

"A woman jailed for allegedly duping her friend into believing she was a man and having sex with her using a prosthetic penis has had her conviction quashed."

"Ex-private schoolgirl 26-year-old Gayle Newland is being released on bail pending a retrial after three Court of Appeal judges reviewed the conviction," The Daily Mail reports.

We discussed the case last September, here.

24 comments:

Achilles said...: This is way less damaging than lying about birth control and getting pregnant on purpose.; 10/12/16, 2:18 PM
Rob said...: The purported victim knew she was being schlonged, she just didn't know (according to her) that she was being schlonged by an artificial penis or that the person wielding it was a man. As to the former, it doesn't seem like it should rise to the level of being a crime, provided it wasn't larger or more irritating than an actual penis. As to the latter, drawing the distinction seems either sexist or, if you believe in the fluidity of gender and the ability of someone to choose which gender they identify as, meaningless.; 10/12/16, 2:27 PM
madAsHell said...: I'll play straight man.......What's the difference between a strap-on, and a prosthetic penis??; 10/12/16, 2:31 PM
Rick said...: The Daily Mail article doesn't say why the verdict was quashed. You have to click through to their source to find out the judge made comments the appellate court characterized as bearing "the hallmarks of advocacy". Apparently the judges in the UK summarize the case before the jury retires?

We can't have the peasants trying to understand testimony for themselves!

http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/news/chester-cheshire-news/fake-penis-sex-attacker-gayle-12012159; 10/12/16, 2:35 PM
Diamondhead said...: Hmm. If a man somehow pretended his penis was a strap-on and had sex with a lesbian who thought he was a woman, we'd probably call that rape, no?; 10/12/16, 2:35 PM
Rob said...: @Diamondhead
I don't know if we'd call it rape, but I hope we could somehow include it in the Trump movie Ann is scriptwriting.; 10/12/16, 2:40 PM
Rosalyn C. said...: There goes the belief that men and women's personalities are so different. Also, what if a lesbian talks about pussy? Is that sexist? What about a gay (man) talking about getting some dick? Is he a sexist? If a heterosexual woman talks about the men she's had sex with does that make her a sexist, man hater (the way that Trump is being accused of being a sexist women hater)? Or is this like the idea that only whites can be racist? Blacks can't be racist because blacks don't matter enough for their prejudices to count. Only heterosexual men can be sexist? No way women can objectify men.

Better if we never talk about sex again.; 10/12/16, 3:00 PM
Etienne said...: If homosexuals can get married, then they should be able to have a fake penis too.

It's un-constitutional to fake penis homosexuals to restrict their human rights.; 10/12/16, 3:08 PM
Gusty Winds said...: I thought having sex with a woman with an uninvited penis was called rape.; 10/12/16, 3:11 PM
traditionalguy said...: Grab her by the strap on. It works for Hillary with Huma love.

But then Huma Weiner is like a gold hunter. But one who hunts for insider info to protect Saudi black gold.; 10/12/16, 3:13 PM
damikesc said...: I thought rape via deception was bad.; 10/12/16, 3:17 PM
Achilles said...: Blogger damikesc said...
"I thought rape via deception was bad."

The "victim" didn't have a problem until she found out the other woman was a republican. That is when charges were filed.; 10/12/16, 3:20 PM
Known Unknown said...: The Whizzinator!

Onterrio Smith, we hardly knew ye.; 10/12/16, 3:21 PM
MacMacConnell said...: Was this girl muslim? If so it's just simple assault or maybe a religious right.; 10/12/16, 3:23 PM
Rob said...: @Gusty Winds
The problem seems to be, however, not that there was unwilling sex but that the sexual partner was a different gender than had been represented and that the penis was artificial rather than natural. Once someone is a willing participant in intercourse, should misrepresentations by the sexual partner be relevant? If so, is it only misrepresentation about gender that transforms consensual sex into sexual assault, or do other types of misrepresentation qualify too (e.g., marital status, how rich he/she is, whether he/she loves you, whether her breasts are natural)?; 10/12/16, 3:28 PM
BarrySanders20 said...: How does the description of the alleged perp being an "ex-private schoolgirl" assist us in understanding this story?

Is that relevant information to the British news consumer?; 10/12/16, 3:29 PM
n.n said...: Trans-gender or trans-social?

Behavior is not tantamount to orientation, which pales in comparison to exposure of social liberalism, where a person can be legally, socially, fiscally, and literally crucified/aborted under Pro-Choice.; 10/12/16, 3:31 PM
MacMacConnell said...: "How does the description of the alleged perp being an "ex-private schoolgirl" assist us in understanding this story?"

Because "ex-private schoolgirl" signals privilege like athlete, fraternity men, Republican politician...etc.

I had written something much more interesting, but Hillary deleted it.; 10/12/16, 3:51 PM
Curious George said...: "madAsHell said...
I'll play straight man.......What's the difference between a strap-on, and a prosthetic penis??"

If you have Anthem, the latter is covered, subject to deductible.; 10/12/16, 4:16 PM
Steve M. Galbraith said...: Althouse put this under the tagline "relationships".

Discuss among yourselves.; 10/12/16, 4:22 PM
FullMoon said...: Taking persuasion to a whole 'nother level. My hat's off to the perp.; 10/12/16, 4:38 PM
Real American said...: my guess is that the court doesn't want to make it crime to pretend to be the opposite sex and then dupe people into having sex with you because then a whole bunch of trannies would be rapists. Can't have that.

Plus, in general, lying to get someone into the sack is not a crime. It is immoral, but not criminal.; 10/12/16, 5:08 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: When I first read this I had assumed this poor woman had been rotting in jail for 8 years, "Gayle Newland, 26, of Willaston, Cheshire, had been jailed for eight years over three counts of sexual assault, but appealed against the conviction at the Court of Appeal in London."
This seems like poor writing, but maybe its just some weird British idiom.; 10/12/16, 5:14 PM
Jim S. said...: Wait, I'm confused. The perpetrator presumably considers herself a man since she attached herself to an artificial penis. Yet we're not calling her a him. Aren't we supposed to call anyone who wants to be a him a him? Wouldn't putting on a prosthetic penis indicate that she -- he -- considered himself -- herself -- a man?

And isn't the victim's reaction transphobic? She had no problem having sex with her/him until she found out she (he) had a vagina and that he (she) didn't have a flesh and blood penis.

Yes, "confused" is the right word for it.; 10/13/16, 1:43 AM