# Woman Who Posed As Teenage Boy To Abuse Young Girls Jailed For 8 Years



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Jan 10, 2020)

*Woman who posed as teenage boy to abuse young girls jailed for 8 years *
By Jack Guy, CNN



Updated 11:27 AM ET, Fri January 10, 2020 








Watts pleaded guilty to seven offenses and was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.
(CNN)A British woman has been sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for pretending to be a 16-year-old boy in order to groom and sexually abuse young girls.

Gemma Watts, 21, pleaded guilty to seven charges of grooming and sexual assault in November 2019 and returned to Winchester Crown Court for sentencing Friday, according to a police statement.





Watts pretended to be a boy called "Jake Watton" to groom and sexually assault her victims.
"In this particular case, Watts targeted her young victims on social media platforms and duped them into believing they were entering into a relationship with someone whom they could trust," said Phillipa Kenwright of London's Metropolitan Police force, who was one of the lead detectives on the case.

"She then went on to form physical relationships in which she spun a web of lies and deceit, giving her the opportunity to commit sexual offences," Kenwright added.






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Watts used the alias "Jake Watton" to groom young female victims on messaging apps such as Facebook, Snapchat, Yubo and Instagram.

Police said her deception was "bizarre and elaborate," with Watts traveling from her home in Enfield, north London, to different parts of the country to meet her victims.

The investigation began in April 2018, when a medical professional told Hampshire police that a 14-year-old girl reported a sexual assault by her boyfriend, known as Jake Watton.
Police found that Jake Watton was in fact Gemma Watts, and later discovered another two victims, both under the age of 18, who reported being groomed and sexually assaulted by someone using that name.

Watts was arrested in July 2018 following a search of her home. She admitted to grooming the girls and partially admitted to a number of assaults.


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She was then released on bail, but continued to groom young girls, the police said. In October 2018, Watts was found with a missing 15-year-old girl who said she had been sexually assaulted.

Watts was then closely monitored under a Sexual Risk Order to stop her reoffending, police said, before she was charged on September 12, 2019.

"There was, it seems to me, planning and in some way predatory behavior," said Judge Susan Evans when sentencing Watts, the PA Media news agency reported.

"Their age, as you plainly knew, made it more likely that they would be sexually naive, enabling you to get away with your deception."
Watts' lawyers were unavailable for comment.


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## Ivonnovi (Jan 10, 2020)

SMDH!!!!!     Toss her in jail with the male population and let (jailhouse) nature take it's course


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## SpiritJunkie (Jan 10, 2020)

They let her out and she assaulted again?? smh


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## Black Ambrosia (Jan 10, 2020)

This is twisted. Can you imagine how messed up your perception of sex and relationships has to be after being catfished like this?


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## sheanu (Jan 11, 2020)

Between this and the human trafficking thread I'm just so concerned for our children...


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## Laela (Jan 11, 2020)

There is a more robust story about this disturbing case...

Woman who posed as boy to sexually assault up to 50 girls is jailed

More victims are coming out because of the news story... I was wondering about the 8-year term..doesn't seem long enough!

 Apparently this is why:



> The judge, Susan Evans, said there was significant planning behind Watts’s campaign and elements of her behaviour were predatory. All the girls she targeted were vulnerable and some had previously been bullied and had low self-esteem.
> 
> The judge said it was worrying that even after being warned by police, Watts continued to groom and meet girls. “It seems that nothing deterred you,” she said.
> 
> Evans accepted Watts had a low IQ, was immature, had issues about her own sexuality and had no previous convictions. But she said some of the abuse was sustained and some victims suffered severe psychological harm.






Black Ambrosia said:


> This is twisted. Can you imagine how messed up your perception of sex and relationships has to be after being catfished like this?


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## intellectualuva (Jan 11, 2020)

Low IQ and all, 8 years isnt long enough. I wonder if she's going into a mental facility or a real jail with other women.

I cant believe they let her out and she still was preying on young girls. smh.


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## Reinventing21 (Jan 12, 2020)

If she has low IQ and is 21, then she probably sees herself as the same and no different than the other teens.  Add to that sexual identity issues and you have a recipe for a disaster. 

It was probably due to that, they were initially hesitant to label her a predator. 

However, low IQ or not, she was clever enough to be manipulative as #@% soo...

I would not be surprised at all if she was a victim as well. In fact I think it is highly likely.


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## natural2008 (Jan 13, 2020)

What on earth????


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## weaveadiva (Jan 15, 2020)

Leeda.the.Paladin said:


> The investigation began in April 2018, when a medical professional told Hampshire police that a 14-year-old girl reported a sexual assault by her boyfriend, known as Jake Watton.


So happy this girl had the courage to come forward and at such a young age.


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