A trainee lawyer has been found guilty of crying rape five times against the same man in a bid to escape exams to qualify as a barrister.
Scheming Rhiannon Brooker, 30, repeatedly accused boyfriend Paul Fensome, who was arrested and charged and held in custody for 30 days.
Brooker inflicted injuries on herself and claimed that he had caused them, and lied to friends that she had lost a baby because he had assaulted her.
Detectives launched a major investigation but realised Mr Fensome, 46, was totally innocent and instead arrested Brooker.
It then emerged that Brooker had used the allegations as “extenuating circumstances” in a failed attempt to dodge her Bar exams.
David Bartlett, prosecuting, said: “One of the reasons for her false allegations was that she was living an active social life in Bristol and not doing the work required to pass the assessments, so she falsified the allegations in order to give substance to her extenuating circumstances forms.”
Brooker was found guilty of 12 counts of doing an act tending, and intended, to pervert the course of justice – including five false claims of rape.
After nearly 21 hours’ deliberation the jury at Bristol Crown Court failed to reach a verdict on eight other charges which were dismissed.
Brooker sobbed and held her head in her hands as the verdicts were delivered. She was freed on bail to be sentenced on June 26.
The court heard how “confident and outspoken” Brooker took a Bachelor of Law degree at Birmingham City University before moving to Bristol in September 2010.
She attended the University of the West of England in the city to prepare for her BVC qualifications to become a barrister.
Brooker also accused Mr Fensome of false imprisonment and assault at her home, but each allegation was countered with “cast iron alibis” by him.
Texts from his phone, analysis of its location and his work shift patterns all undermined or disproved further allegations.
Mr Bartlett said: “Whilst in respect of some allegations there was no independent evidence either to confirm what she had said or undermine it, on other occasions independent evidence either undermined or disproved her account.
“Eventually the Crown dropped the numerous charges against Paul Fensome because, taken as a whole, the evidence showed that there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction.
“Expert opinion was obtained which suggested that those injuries of Brooker that were photographed were self-inflicted.”
The court heard Brooker only sat the first four of her 12 assessments for her Bar Vocational Course and persuaded the Extenuating Circumstance Committee to let her sit all at a later date.
She eventually failed the exams because she went beyond time limits for the retakes.
Brooker was found guilty of five counts of falsely claiming rape, five of falsely claiming assault, one of claiming false imprisonment, and one count of claiming assault and false imprisonment between May 2011 and January 2012.
(via Express)
