ENFIELD WOMAN GEMMA WATTS POSES AS TEENAGE BOY TO SEXUALLY ASSAULT GIRLS ACROSS ENGLAND

In a disturbing case that has shocked communities across England, Gemma Watts, a 21-year-old woman from Enfield, has been convicted of engaging in a series of heinous sexual offenses involving underage girls. Watts meticulously crafted a false identity online, posing as a teenage boy named "Jake Waton" to lure her victims into a web of deception and exploitation.

Using social media platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram, Watts uploaded her own photographs and adopted the persona of a 16-year-old boy. She targeted girls aged between 13 and 16, engaging with them by liking their profiles, sending flirtatious messages, and sharing intimate photographs. Her grooming tactics included using teenage slang to appear relatable and trustworthy, which helped her build a false sense of intimacy with her victims.

Her method of operation involved exchanging private images and establishing a virtual relationship before arranging to meet in person at various locations across England. When meeting her victims, Watts disguised herself by tying her hair back into a bun, wearing a baseball cap, jogging bottoms, and a hoodie, further convincing the girls that she was a teenage boy. All of her victims believed they were in a romantic relationship with a peer, unaware that Watts was actually an adult woman.

Police investigations revealed that Watts was so convincing that she even spent time with some of the girls' parents, maintaining her facade as "Jake" during in-person meetings. The extent of her manipulation was so profound that some victims felt compelled to confide in their parents, and in at least two cases, the trauma led to multiple suicide attempts. One 14-year-old girl expressed her devastation in court, describing her emotional breakdown upon discovering the truth about Watts from law enforcement officials. She stated, "My world stopped, I actually stopped breathing... I loved him so much."

Watts’s criminal activities involved at least five victims, including a 13-year-old girl from Plymouth, two 14-year-olds from Surrey and Hampshire, and a 16-year-old from the West Midlands. Prosecutor Barnaby Shaw detailed that Watts repeatedly sexually assaulted one of her victims during overnight stays over a three-month period. During one such incident, the girl believed she was touching Watts’s genitals but was deceived by what was described as "a number of socks tightly rolled together," used to simulate male anatomy.

Legal proceedings culminated in Watts pleading guilty at Winchester Crown Court to multiple charges, including assault by penetration, meeting a child following sexual grooming, and sexual assault. Judge Susan Evans QC sentenced her to eight years in prison, emphasizing that Watts had deliberately groomed young girls for her own gratification. The judge highlighted that Watts exploited the naivety of her victims, knowing their youth made them more vulnerable to her deception.

The investigation into Watts’s activities was initiated after concerns were raised by a Hampshire-based doctor in March 2018. The doctor’s patient, a young girl, disclosed she was in a relationship with an older boy, prompting police to look into the matter. In July 2018, Watts admitted to Metropolitan Police officers that she had been sexually active as "Jake" with her first three victims. She was initially released under investigation but was re-arrested in October 2018 by British Transport Police when officers found her on a train with a fourth victim. It was only then that authorities realized Watts’s true identity.

In November 2019, 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. Her case underscores the dangers of online grooming and the importance of vigilance in protecting vulnerable young people from predators who exploit their innocence for personal gratification.