A British woman was sentenced for fraud after she falsely led her ex-boyfriend to believe he was the father of their child for two years.
As reported by the Chester Standard, On Tuesday, Beth Fernley, of Wroxham Road, Great Sankey, was handed a 13-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months due to her being the primary carer for her daughter.
Fernley Forged Paternity Test Claiming Her Ex was the Child's Father, After Two Years Said DNA Company Mixed Up Lab Results
Fernley faked DNA results indicating that there was a 99.9 per cent chance that Ryan Hampson, who she had recently broken up with, was the father of her unborn child.
However, after acting as a father figure to who he thought was his biological daughter for over two years, Fernley, in another "sinister lie," told him she was informed by the DNA company that they had the laboraty results mixed up and he was not the father of the child. It turned out that the child's father was, in fact, a man Fernley had cheated on Hampson with during their relationship.
Hampson 'Torn Apart,' Grieving For a Child No Longer in His Life After Caring for the Child for Two Years
On Tuesday, April 15, Liverpool Crown Court heard how Hampson grieves for a child who is no longer a part of his life. He read out a victim impact statement in which he said how his world was "torn apart" when he was told he was not the father of a baby he had raised for more than two years.
"Without the support of my family and friends, I genuinely believe I would not be here today," Hampson said. "The thought of seeing her [the child] in public fills me with dread as I grieve for a child that is no longer in my life. "The trauma I have experienced is something I would not wish upon anyone, even my worst enemy," he added.
Judge: 'Perpetuation of Sinister Dishonesty'
Judge Andrew Menary described Fernley's offending as a "perpetuation of sinister dishonesty." He said: "The label for the charge fraud by false representation does not reveal the particular dreadful nature of the offences you have committed."
"Until March 18 of this year, you had in large measures lied to everybody about all of this," he continued. "This was a particularly dreadful offence that has had a profound impact on many people, not only the victim himself but his immediate family who believed they were aunties, grandparents and so on of the baby.
"The offence will also have an effect on the child because there was a time when she believed that someone was her father. Whether it began out of some sense of apprehension or because you were keen to create some sort of perfect family, it is hard for me to understand."
"For no good reason at all, you started about a course of action involving repeated dishonesty and deceit," he noted. "When the police became involved you lied and lied and lied, then when you came to this court you lied. It was a perpetuation of sinister dishonesty."
Fernley must complete up to 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days as well as 200 hours of unpaid work. She must also pay £300 to Mr Hampson in compensation.
