Man who posed as his own wife to trick woman into having sex with him on camera jailed

A man posed as his own wife online to trick a woman into having sex with him. Benjamin Ritchie called himself "Marina" and began a friendship with the woman, who was in her 20s, before asking her to help expose her cheating husband. "Marina" asked the woman to go around to their home while she was at work and have sex with her husband, Benjamin, film the events and then send her the recording.

The woman did this but after some time received a message from "Marina", saying that, if she did not continue to have sex with Benjamin and film it, then the initial sex recording would be sent to her family and work colleagues. So the woman, under duress, engaged in sexual activity again with Ritchie. This happened on a number of occasions before the woman became suspicious and reported him to police.



Ritchie, who admitted rape and two counts of sexual assault, has now been jailed for seven years. Investigating officer Det Con Claudia Musson said: "Ritchie preyed on a vulnerable young woman and deceived her at every turn. She was left deeply traumatised by what he did but she showed great courage in coming forward and speaking to police. Although seven years is a pleasing sentence, it doesn't compensate for what he did. I just hope his victim can now try to move on with her life in the knowledge that he has been jailed.

"I would urge people to be careful when talking to people online. When forming relationships via the internet, you can easily be lulled into a false sense of security, which in turn can leave you very vulnerable." Ritchie, 35, of Dovecote Drive, Borrowash, Derby, must sign the sex offenders' register indefinitely and obey a sexual offences prevention order which prohibits him from possessing any software to delete internet history.