A mother has been found guilty of duping her ex-lover into thinking she had an abortion so she could give his child to her gay friend as part of an elaborate fraud.
The jury at Perth Sheriff Court took two hours to find the mother and her friend unanimously guilty on Friday and both were warned they could expect to be sent to prison.
Sheriff William Wood described the offence as “very serious” and paid a glowing tribute to the child’s father for his efforts to obtain justice for himself and his daughter.
The father smiled, clenched his fist and mouthed thankyou to members of the jury following the verdict which follows a six day trial.
The duo, who cannot be named for legal reasons, face being sent to prison for up to five years each for hatching the plot which was described in court as “cynical, calculated and inhumane.”
The father told the court he had “mourned” for the child after being falsely told by his former partner that she had undergone a termination to get rid of their baby.
The 29-year-old woman claimed she had sex with her homosexual friend and thought the baby was his and he claimed he believed her version of events.
But the jury did not believe the story the pair had concocted and found them both guilty of carrying out a fraud against the father for nearly three years.
Sentence has been deferred.
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