A woman who used sex chatrooms to arrange a ‘stranger rape’ of a former work colleague was convicted yesterday and ordered to undergo psychiatric tests.
Office admin worker Joanne Berry, 30, posed on websites such as Cougar Shag declaring she liked role play and wanted to create ‘some sort of rape scenario’.
But having told one man to knock at her door and ‘burst in’ she gave him the home address of another woman.
Her innocent victim only discovered what was happening when the man arrived on her doorstep.
Fortunately, he became suspicious and did not go through with the planned attack and apologised to the woman, saying he had been set up by ‘a very deranged person’.
When Berry was arrested her computer was found to contain conversations with several men describing violent rape fantasies.
One conversation, which included the victim’s address, said: “Grab me by the neck and really scare and intimidate me. Interested? Then you basically have free rein.”
University-educated Berry, of Grove Park, South London denied putting a person in fear of violence between April and June 2012
She also denied assault with intent to commit a sexual offence, common assault and attempting to cause a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.
She was convicted of all charges and will be sentenced on August 8.
Judge David Griffith-Jones QC released her on bail from Maidstone Crown Court and said he wanted a psychiatric report before deciding her fate.
Prosecutor Andrew Espley said Berry had become ‘slightly obsessed’ with her innocent victim and had sent her numerous texts daily.
Berry had once confided in her that she had been raped but Mr. Espley said that had never happened.
He said: “Joanne Berry arranged for men to go around to the woman’s house and rape her. Luckily that did not happen.
“She went on various sex chat websites, pretending to be the victim, gave her address, used her name, gave the registration of her car which was going to be parked outside and told men to come around to engage in a fantasy rape game with her – basically to rape her.”
He said the woman also started getting text messages from strange men asking: “What’s going on?, Why aren’t you in? Why can’t I have a fantasy rape with you?”
One man called at her home and claimed to have been talking to her all day online.
The next morning she opened her door to another man who tried to push his way in.
