7Gemma Barker
Under three separate assumed identities, 19-year-old Gemma Barker engaged in a campaign of deception and fraud that ruined the lives of those she claimed to love. In 2009, she befriended two girls while posing as a man on Facebook and convinced each to meet her in person, where she disguised herself as one of her male alter egos, before initiating a sexual relationship.
Neither of the girls suspected that their “boyfriend” was really a woman. Even after the relationships became physical, Gemma’s surreptitious use of sex toys maintained the deception. Eventually, one of the girls recognized Gemma online using another assumed identity, who appeared to be in a relationship with another woman the girl knew. After the two went to the police and Gemma was arrested, the entire deception was revealed.
Gemma showed no remorse as she was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for sexual assault and was described by the judge as “deceptive and deceitful” in her behavior. Both of her victims sought rape counseling after being emotionally scarred by the ordeal.
6Ashley Jessup
One of the most disgusting and frightening examples of female sexual predation is the case of Ashley Jessup. In August 2011, Jessup’s boyfriend, with whom she enjoyed exchanging sexually explicit images and videos via email, asked her to perform sexual acts on her 10-month-old son and film it for him. She willingly complied, performing oral sex on the baby and fondling his genitals.
When her boyfriend’s former girlfriend found the video on his computer, she contacted the police, who seized Jessup’s computer. The boyfriend was convicted of sexually abusive computer activity and sentenced to 3–20 years in prison, while Jessup was convicted of two counts of rape of a child under 13 years old, one count of endangering children, and one count of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. The child was placed in the care of his grandmother.
5Sarah Hopkins
Sarah Hopkins gave a horrifying twist to the term “cougar,” as the 35-year-old was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy.The boy was the child of her neighbor and close friend. Hopkins and the boy would often go on long walks together or spend time at her apartment, where she showed him pornographic films and initiated sexual relations.
Her secret was revealed when the boy confessed the details of the eight-month ordeal to his mother, after which Hopkins was promptly arrested andcharged with various sexual crimes, eventually pleading guilty to three counts of rape and two of sodomy and being sentenced to 12 years in prison. Police investigating the case believed that the Hopkins could have assaulted other young victims, but this was never proven.
4Theresa Goddard
Theresa Goddard was a shockingly shameless predator with a desire for what she called an “incest family.” She went so far as to post an online advertisement stating explicitly what she sought: a man who had children with whom they could have sex. All appeared to be going well for her when a 51-year-old father of two children, aged 9 and 10, responded to the ad. The two began to chat via email and Skype to discuss a possible arrangement. After various emails and video chats, Goddard expressed interest in quitting her job and moving to Virginia to become his children’s “pervstepmom.”
She got exactly what she should have expected and certainly deserved, however, when the man turned out to be an undercover officer with the Department of Homeland Security. When she arrived at the airport to meet her new “boyfriend,” she was promptly arrested and soon convicted of attempting to coerce and entice two children into engaging in illegal sexual activity. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
3Jennifer Rice
Jennifer Rice was a teacher at McKinley Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington when she became fixated on an 11-year-old student. Her obsession led to an inappropriate relationship between the two involving illicit email exchanges, movie dates, and eventually, sexual assault. The boy’s father soon became suspicious of the teacher’s motives and forbade his son from having any further contact with her, which drove the increasingly unhinged Rice to kidnapping. She planned to take the boy out of state, and by her own admission, she raped the boy at a rest-stop during the trip.
After she was arrested, it was discovered that Rice had also assaulted the boy’s 15-year-old brother. In 2009, she was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for her many depraved acts. Though she showed genuine remorse for her actions, it was ruled that she must serve her entire sentence and may not be eligible for parole.
2Leah Shipman
In another case of a teacher taking advantage of one of her own students, Leah Shipman initiated a predatory sexual relationship with 15-year-old Johnny Ray Ison while she was employed at Wilmington High School in North Carolina. She was eventually arrested on charges of statutory rape and taking indecent liberties with a child but avoided prosecution by exploiting a legal loophole. Two years after her arrest, she actually married the young man.
The wedding took place just six days after Shipman left her husband of 19 years. Disgustingly, she was given consent to marry the still-underage boy by his own mother. The tactic allowed her to invoke her Sixth Amendment rights, which prevent a defendant’s spouse from being forced to testify against them. Without Ison’s testimy, she could only be charged with interfering with the investigation by calling the boy and sending him text messages during the proceedings. She received only a suspended sentence of 20–30 days in prison, a year of probation, and $345 in restitution. The only real justice is that she has been forbidden to teach ever again.
1Hendrika Shaskey
When Aaron Gilmore was 11 years old and Hendrika Shaskey was 35, he was a student of hers at a school in New Zealand. At the time, he wasn’t close to his own mother, and taking advantage of this, Shaskey befriended him and often invited him to her home to socialize with her own children. He quickly grew fond of the attention and began to think of his teacher as a “second mother.” Unbeknownst to him, her motives went far beyond a simple concern for his welfare. Just under a year after they began their friendship, Shaskey drove him to a secluded parking lot and molested him.
Although he was shocked, Gilmore initially confused the abuse with motherly affection. It continued for five years, during which time Gilmore often stayed overnight at Shaskey’s home. Eventually, she took the young boy with her on vacation. While away from prying eyes, she convinced him to share a bed at their hotel and raped him. After this episode, the older woman got divorced and the parents of the young boy, who clearly knew nothing about the abuse, let him move in with her, since her home was closer to both his school and his dance academy. He only left her clutches at the age of 18, after taking a job as a dancer in Australia.
Gilmore came forward about the abuse in the early 2000s. Though his claims were initially met with doubt and ridicule, Shaskey was ultimately arrested and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Having ended the shame and humiliation of this chapter in his life, Gilmore later went on to star in Australia’s Dancing with the Stars.
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