Redditch nurse faked having baby during lockdown

A children's cancer nurse who faked having her ex-partner's baby during lockdown has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Alexandra Gregory, 25, from Redditch, sent Daniel Smith fake pregnancy scans and photos of a baby in intensive care.

She pleaded guilty to sending malicious communications between August 2020 and February 2021.

Chairman of the bench Kevin Lloyd-Wright said Gregory had committed a "prolonged campaign against Mr Smith".

"It was planned, sustained and relentless," he said during sentencing at Worcester Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

The court heard the pair had had a short relationship between February and July 2020, which ended amicably.

However, a month later Mr Smith received a photo of a positive pregnancy test, which was followed by a photo of her with a small bump.

The pair met up to discuss the situation where they agreed Gregory would have an abortion.

But in October, she sent him a message saying she had changed her mind.

After that, Gregory bombarded Mr Smith with messages, including faked baby scans and photos of her in her Birmingham's Women's and Children's Hospital nurse's uniform seemingly with a pregnancy bump.

She also sent child maintenance forms and told him that she had been bleeding heavily.

The court was told Mr Smith had questioned the legitimacy of the scans, and at one point requested a DNA test, but felt too guilty to confront her.

On 2 January 2021 alone, she sent more than 300 messages to him.

That month she told Mr Smith she had given birth to a girl called Aria, but added she was "born blue" and sent him photos of a baby in a hospital unit.

"Our daughter is in intensive care," she told him.

The court heard that the truth finally came to light a month later, when Gregory's father told Mr Smith's aunt that there was no baby.

West Mercia Police said Gregory had since gone on to have a baby with another partner and had refused to answer questions during interviews.

Prosecuting, Tom Wickstead told the court that the experience had left Mr Smith feeling "like a shadow of himself" while the judge later acknowledged he had suffered "continuous anxiety".

Gregory's defence team said she had indeed become pregnant, but the court was told she had suffered a miscarriage at some point before she messaged Mr Smith in October.

Her solicitor said she had become distressed with the situation as well as her work as a paediatric nurse during lockdown.

He added that the defendant "fully accepted" that she had lied about having Mr Smith's baby and that there was "no sensible explanation for what she did".

"She doesn't understand why she did it," he told the court and added that she had been off work in January 2021 due to her mental health.

Gregory was sentenced to a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, as well as a 12-month mental health treatment plan and 20 days of community service.

She was also ordered to pay £500 in compensation to Mr Smith and was given a three-year restraining order against him and his mother.

Mr Smith's family said his life had not been the same since and they were glad the truth was finally out.

A spokesperson for Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust said Gregory had been suspended pending the police investigation and that it would now "conclude its own internal investigation".

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