Woman Faked Two Births and Received £30,000 From Alleged Father, Judge Says

A woman staged the births of two children and received £30,000 in financial support from the man she claimed was their father, in what a High Court judge described as an “elaborate campaign of deceit”.

The woman is believed to have invented the “cruel” story as revenge against the man, who she alleged had abused her and her son. However, the court heard that financial gain may also have played a part, as she received a “considerable amount of money” from the supposed father.

The man, who cannot be named and was referred to as John during the legal proceedings, believed he had remained with his partner, known as Jane, throughout her first pregnancy. He said he had even felt what he thought was her pregnant stomach.

John was not present for the alleged birth and never saw the child because he had been arrested. However, Jane sent him photographs and an ultrasound image, Mrs Justice Judd said in a written ruling.

After John was released and the couple resumed their relationship, Jane told him the baby was living with a family member. She also claimed social workers had said he was not allowed to see the child.

Following the supposed birth of a second baby, Jane reportedly claimed that both children had been sold for £500. John, who is in his early 30s, then applied for parental responsibility for the children he believed were his.

He discovered only later that the babies had been fabricated, after the case came before the High Court in February. In a ruling published on Friday, Mrs Justice Judd said it was most likely that neither child existed.

The court was later told that Jane was overweight, in her 50s and menopausal, meaning she would not have been able to give birth.

Bank statements showed that Jane visited a tanning salon on the day she claimed to have given birth, the judge said.

Jane later told the court that a voice message sent to John’s mother, in which a crying baby could be heard, had been created by playing a YouTube video in the background.

John said Jane told him in late 2022 that she was pregnant. He claimed she became “visibly pregnant” as the months passed and described her stomach as “hard, like a pregnant stomach”.

Jane told the court that she had always been a larger woman with a prominent stomach.

In May 2023, around the time the baby was due, the couple argued. Jane called the police and accused John of assault, leading to his arrest and detention on remand for several months, the judge said.

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Jane later messaged John’s stepfather to say the baby had been born. She also sent John photographs of the baby and regular updates about the child.

Mrs Justice Judd said: “When the applicant was released from prison the relationship resumed, but he says the respondent told him the baby was with a family member.

“She said that the local authority had said he was not permitted to see her but she did show him lots of pictures of the baby.”

The couple, who had met during the pandemic, resumed their relationship. Jane then told John that she was pregnant again and that the baby was due in August 2024.

However, they argued and separated shortly before the alleged due date. They did not get back together.

John’s mother later saw Jane, who was described as “visibly pregnant”. Jane subsequently sent her a message saying that the baby had been born.

Despite being estranged, John continued to send money to support Jane and the two children, believed to be around the value of £30,000 according to The Times, during which time she would send pictures and updates to him and his loved ones.

John eventually ‘became very concerned about what had happened to the children’ and applied in October 2024 to discover his children’s whereabouts and try to claim parental responsibility.

Jane then filed a non-molestation order against John and alleged he had verbally, physically and sexually abused her.

During this time, Jane had supposedly told John that she had sold the two babies for £500, according to The Telegraph.

At the non-molestation order hearing, Jane’s lawyer said she had no children with John. Jane said she had miscarried twice. 

Mrs Justice Judd said there was no evidence of births on the woman’s phone and no records by local authority or police.

The judge said the case had left her with two ‘extremely unlikely’ and ‘bizarre scenarios’ but it was most likely that the woman had ‘engaged in a campaign of deception lasting for about three years in order to make the applicant believe that he was going to be, then was, the father of children’.

The judge said: ‘The behaviour was cruel, leading a man and his mother to believe they had children and grandchildren respectively.’