Channel 5 meet the women who were coerced, tricked and forced by their partners into committing serious crimes…
In this series, which begins tonight, contributors describe first-hand the terrifying moments they were caught, the horrors they faced in brutal prison systems around the world, and how they were forced to fight to endure to clear their names.
Featuring expert commentary from criminologists, extraordinary archive and stylish reconstructions, the programme reveals how easily people can be controlled by criminal masterminds who convince them to break the law in ever more heinous ways, from smuggling kilos of cocaine across international borders to setting up a multi-million-pound heist.
The documentary brings in the first episode the stories of two women who were sentenced to jail after their boyfriends coerced them into committing serious crimes. In Canada, Emily was given four years for smuggling two kilos of cocaine into the country from St. Lucia.
Social media entrepreneur Emily fell for business client Noah, a kind and caring man who helped her into sobriety after she started using drugs to cope with a family crisis. Noah began to stop paying her business invoices but apologised, offering to take her on holiday to Puerto Rico. At the airport he revealed they were going to St. Lucia instead.
After a few days relaxing, Noah took her to a house where he revealed the real reason for their trip: to smuggle several kilos of cocaine into Canada for criminals who already had her passport information.
Emily was pressured into hiding 2kg of cocaine under her dress and taken to the airport. She and Noah flew back to Toronto, where she was arrested by custom officials and sentenced to four years in prison for smuggling drugs.
Emily describes how she coped with being coerced into crime and survived prison. While locked up, She started a business which now helps give former convicts a second chance.
This episode also features the story of Amy, a prison mental health nurse in Doncaster who fell for violent inmate Joseph Whittingham.
In 2018 he groomed her into making up mental health issues for him so they could have sex in her office, before convincing her to smuggle large amounts of drugs, weapons and phones into the prison inside her rucksack.
Police became suspicious when one of the drugs she brought in was responsible for 7 deaths in the prison. Eventually, Amy was caught, revealing a huge criminal enterprise and was given over ten years in prison. Throughout the episode, there is expert analysis from criminologists and investigative journalists who provide insight into the boyfriends’ behaviour, revealing the tricks they use to coerce others into crime.
My Boyfriend Made Me Do It, Channel 5 tonight at 10pm
