Woman who cried rape to hide one-night stand from her boyfriend is jailed for two years

A woman who hid a one-night-stand from her boyfriend by claiming she had been violently raped by an innocent taxi driver has been jailed.

Gaynor Cooke, 41, cheated on her partner in 2003 but covered up her infidelity for eight years by telling him she’d suffered a brutal sexual attack.

Cooke said the rape had left her depressed and suicidal and she gave officers harrowing details about her “ordeal” in an 18-page statement.

She underwent an examination by doctors who could find no DNA match of her attacker – until one was suddenly made in 2011.

The DNA was taken from a taxi driver who was arrested for an alleged minor incident and he was charged with her rape.

But his trial was abandoned and the cabbie “completely exonerated” after police discovered she had lied to cover up her one night stand.

Cooke admitted perverting the course of justice and Recorder Shaun Smith QC jailed her for two years at Nottingham Crown Court.

He told her: “It’s a complete pack of lies.

“It may only have been for a short period of time, but you destroyed an innocent life.”

The court heard extracts from statements Cooke gave to police about her nightmare rape “ordeal”.

In one, she claimed: “Since I was raped in 2003, I feel my life has been changed for ever.

“I’m depressed after what happened to me and often feel suicidal.”

DNA from the man she had had sex with did not match any profiles on the Police National Database, leaving officers with no suspect.

Following the cabbie’s arrest Cooke told police she was “pleased a suspect was identified and wanted to do justice with a prosecution”.

The taxi driver told police he was a single man in 2003 and had consensual sex with women in his home but had not raped anyone.

He was charged with rape and his trial was to take place at Nottingham Crown Court in February 2012.

But when police went back to speak to Cooke, formerly of Nottingham but now living in Corby, Northamptonshire, she told them “you have got me”.

Prosecutor Grace Hale said the taxi driver had been suspended from work as a result of the charge and was left too unwell to return.

Defending, Fiona Tannock, said her client had been “troubled more and more” by the impact of her lies.