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Gemma Watts: Sex attacks woman posed as teenage boy | Gemma Watts: Sex attacks woman posed as teenage boy |
(30 minutes later) | |
A woman disguised herself as a teenage boy to sexually assault girls after grooming them online. | A woman disguised herself as a teenage boy to sexually assault girls after grooming them online. |
Gemma Watts posed as 16-year-old "Jake Waton" on social media and swapped intimate photos with victims before meeting at locations across England. | Gemma Watts posed as 16-year-old "Jake Waton" on social media and swapped intimate photos with victims before meeting at locations across England. |
Watts, 21, of Enfield, has pleaded guilty to sexual offences involving four girls. She is due to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court later. | Watts, 21, of Enfield, has pleaded guilty to sexual offences involving four girls. She is due to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court later. |
Police believe she may have assaulted up to 50 victims in total. | Police believe she may have assaulted up to 50 victims in total. |
Scotland Yard said Watts had used her own picture on Snapchat and Instagram accounts as "Jake" and targeted girls aged 14 to 16 by liking their profiles. | |
She used teenage slang, sent flattering messages and shared intimate photographs before travelling to meet them in person. | |
Her disguise included tying her hair back in a bun and wearing a baseball cap, jogging bottoms and a hoodie. | |
'Completely taken in' | |
Police said all of her victims believed they were in a relationship with a teenage boy until officers revealed Watts was actually an adult woman. | |
She was so convincing she even spent time as "Jake" with some of the girls' parents. | |
The offences she has admitted relate to a 14-year-old from Hampshire and three 15-year-olds from Surrey, Plymouth and the West Midlands. | |
Det Con Phillipa Kenwright said the victims "all believed they were in a relationship with a male" and had been "completely taken in" by Watts. | |
She added: "It's been life-changing for all of the victims involved." | |
The officer said she believed Watts could have duped "20 to 50" victims in total. | |
In November, Watts pleaded guilty to one count of assault by penetration, three counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming and three counts of sexual assault. |