A woman who faked a pregnancy for nine months to stalk and harass a man with whom she had a one-night stand received community service instead of jail time.
Jaclyn McGowan, 36, from Scotland, pretended to be pregnant by wearing a prosthetic baby bump in order to convince her one-night stand, Jamie Aitken, that he was going to be a father, the Daily Mail reported. McGowan reportedly wanted revenge after Aitken did not continue their relationship after the one-night stand.
“McGowan told police that after their one-night stand she had taken a pregnancy test, showing her to be pregnant. She had a miscarriage a week later but did not inform Mr. Aitken,” the Mail reported.
The pair had a brief encounter after a Tinder date in June 2019, and prosecutors said McGowan was angry over how Aitken ended their relationship. They had met on Tinder and exchanged messages for a few weeks before meeting in person and spending a night in a hotel room. Afterward, they continued to send messages for a few days but when McGowan asked for a second date, Aitken declined. She became angry when she learned she was pregnant and told Aitken, who, according to McGowan’s defense attorney, “made it abundantly clear to her he did not want a child and wanted nothing to do with it.” It was after this that McGowan had the miscarriage.
She pleaded guilty to “causing fear and alarm by stalking over nine months” and was sentenced on Wednesday to 150 hours of community service. During the nine months she stalked Aitken, she also demanded money for a bed while also telling him he would have no role in the baby’s life.
In court, prosecutors explained that McGowan had even convinced Aitken’s parents that she was pregnant, gaining their pity, and was able to turn them against their own son, at least partially. At one point, her scheme was nearly uncovered when she visited a trampoline park where Aitken’s brother worked. He described her as “slim and not visibly pregnant” when she should have been eight months along at that point.
“To try and cover her tracks, she purchased a prosthetic baby bump, called to ask the park if it was suitable for pregnant women, and turned up looking ‘heavily pregnant’ a few days later,” the Mail reported.
Though she stalked Aitken, convinced his family that he would soon be a father and either have to stay with McGowan or give her child support each month, Sheriff Lindsay Foulis (a legally qualified judge) told the court that this was on the lower end of the stalking scale, ordering McGowan to provide 150 hours of community service and no jail time.
Prosecutor Tina Dickie, however, explained the damage McGowan had caused.
“Jamie Aitken said the messages and whole situation were causing disruption to him and his family and he stated he felt like she was turning his family against him,” Dickie said in court, according to the Mail. “The mother states that she and her husband had spoken about the situation and they were concerned at first but began to feel excited at the prospect of having a grandchild and were embracing the whole situation. His mother soon realised the accused had an intense dislike for Jamie although she came across as quite nice and polite to her.”
Aitken’s mother told the police that McGowan “was so convincing I believed her that Jamie was not being supportive and ended up feeling very sorry for her and angry at Jamie.”