A woman convinced her former partner she had given birth to two children who most likely did not exist in what a High Court judge described as an “extraordinary” and “elaborate campaign of deceit”.
The man, who has not been named but was referred to as John during the hearing, applied to the Family Court after he was told the woman had sold their two children for a combined £500.
The case heard that the man received messages and photos of the children and paid the woman around £30,000 over the course of two years.
But in a hearing in February, the woman, who was referred to as Jane, told the judge she had lied about the pregnancies for revenge, claiming the man had abused her.
The court heard the man believed he was the children’s’ father because in late 2022 his partner told him she was pregnant, sent pictures of an ultrasound image and had become “visibly pregnant” as time went on.
In May 2023, shortly before the first baby was due, the woman called the police alleging she had been assaulted by the man.
He was arrested and subsequently held on remand for several months, Mrs Justice Judd said in her ruling which was published on Friday.
Following this, the woman sent a message to his stepfather saying the baby had been born as well as sharing baby photos.
At one stage she is said to have sent voice notes to her former partner’s mother in the middle of the night with the sound of a baby crying in the background.
Later, she told the man she was pregnant again and the baby was due in August 2024.
However, before the due date, the couple split up and did not reconcile.
The woman would go on to tell the man’s mother the baby had been born.
The woman admitted to the court she had told him she was pregnant when they were together, and afterwards, but conceded she had told a series of elaborate lies and that there were, in fact, no children.
She argued she was menopausal at the time and could not have been pregnant and bank statements show she attended a tanning shop on the day she said she had given birth, Mrs Justice Judd said.
In her judgement, the judge concluded that the “factors that weigh against the children genuinely existing were very strong, stronger than the factors pointing the other way”.
She said the man was the victim of a “sustained and elaborate campaign of deceit” which also impacted his mother and closest friend.
“Added to this, the behaviour was cruel, leading a man and his mother to believe they had children and grandchildren respectively.”, the Judge said.
The judge added she was unable to conclude the woman’s motive for her behaviour but said financial fraud was a “possibility” and that the “complex mental health problems” she suffered from may have also played a part.