Child molester jailed after claiming jury was hypnotised

Natalie Wolf, from Byker, Newcastle, denied sexual activity with a child but was convicted. Photo / Northumbria Police

A transgender child molester claimed a jury was hypnotised into a guilty verdict.

Natalie Wolf, 47, claimed to be the “victim of a conspiracy” after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl.

Newcastle Crown Court heard the victim feared she would be raped by Wolf, who now identifies as a woman but was known as Ryan Haley at the time of the offence.

The victim, who is now an adult but cannot be named for legal reasons, did not report the abuse at the time after being left with “shame and self-doubt”.

Nicoleta Alistari, prosecuting, told the court that Wolf groped the victim’s chest and attempted to touch her groin during the assault in Washington, County Durham.

Wolf was held on remand in HMP Durham, a men’s prison, but was referred to with female pronouns during proceedings.

But in a statement to the court, the victim refused to do so and said “in my eyes he is Ryan Haley”.

“I am doing this not just for me but for all the children and women who have been sexually abused by men,” she said.

“Ryan Haley wants everyone to know him as Natalie Wolf but in my eyes he is Ryan Haley, the man who sexually abused me.”

She added: “Ryan, you destroyed me as a child, I kept this inside me for many years until I was strong enough to report it.

“Today I got the chance to read my victim statement in court. Today I am finally going to get the justice I have waited for. Today, Ryan Haley, you are going to get what you deserve.”

Wolf, who represented himself at the hearing, accused the victim of “lying through her teeth”, and claimed the jury members were under hypnosis.

Judge Gavin Doig said the molester had shown “no remorse whatsoever”.

“It is clear you believed you are the victim of a conspiracy involving the courts, prison service, the barristers in the case, your solicitor, the police, your family and a number of other people,” he said.

“You make allegations in your notes I have read, most of which I will not repeat, but include someone hypnotising the jury or that the jury were planted by people so you would be convicted.

“You suggest the victim may have hypnotised the police officer during her video interview. I want you to understand, you are not the victim of a conspiracy, you are not the victim at all.”

Wolf, from Byker, Newcastle, had denied sexual activity with a child but was convicted by a jury after a trial.

He was jailed for three and a half years with lifelong sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order.

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