Chat Room Rape Group Gets Woman Arrested

Joanne Berry used a chat room rape group to set up an ex-colleague for the real thing, and now faces jail time. Sex chats are known to have a bad reputation, but this time it had real world consequences.

The Grove Park, Southeast London resident allegedly said she liked using chat rooms like those to meet men and act out the scenarios. It is unknown if she actually participated beyond the chat room, but she apparently gave out the address of a colleague in Kent as her own.

When Dean Hicks decided to follow up on the setup, he gave up after realizing both of them had been fooled by the same person. He had been given instructions to show up, force his way into her home, and violently rape the victim.

This is technically “catfishing” on a dangerous new level.

http://t.co/QzQ9OIJHxi Joanne Berry pretended to be the woman and said she wanted men to act out a rape fantasy.

— Kenneth (@pengecai) August 10, 2014

Why would Joanne Berry do something like that? Apparently that ex-colleague had angered her and she wanted revenge, so she used a chat room rape group to set up an attack. Allegedly the victim had been responsible for Berry losing her job, though Judge David Griffith-Jones said the victim had been nothing but nice to Berry.

That the planned attacker had aborted the deal and no harm was actually done was simply fortunate. Berry’s plans showed a dangerous level of malice, and the victim is now afraid to even sit out front in her own garden, and has regular panic attacks after the incident.

After reviewing her actions, the Judge told Berry:

“Joanne Berry I now have to place sentence on you in respect of four counts all of which you were found guilty after a trial. You underwent these [offenses] in a wicked and calculated albeit frankly bizarre fashion. Your victim happened to be a work colleague. … Dr Hussain, a consultant psychiatrist, decided you were fragile and psychologically vulnerable with a low self esteem but that you had no mental illness and no psychiatric history. … By the seriousness of these [offenses] taking account the totality of the criminality. I impose the shortest sentence I feel I possibly can.”

Joanne Berry has been sentenced to six years in jail for her actions involving the chat room rape scenario. The sentence most likely would have been longer if her intended attacker had actually gone all the way with it.

What do you think should be done after the chat room rape attack? Was six years in jail a fair punishment?

[image via veooz]