A woman, who claims she escaped from a satanic cult, travelled across Australia posing as a teenager, a court heard yesterday.
Jacqueline Bayliss, 39, of Doncaster, attempted to deceive secondary schools and even managed to trick the Royal Children’s Hospital into thinking she was an 18-year-old, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard.
Senior Detective Paul Leighton told the court Ms Bayliss was booked in for surgery at the hospital on Friday and had been treated there in the past.
Ms Bayliss and her co-accused, Pastor Patrick Templeton, 53, of Doncaster face deception charges after allegedly trying to obtain education to which Ms Bayliss was not entitled.
The court heard she attended interviews for enrolment at secondary schools in a full burns suit to help mask her age.
Sen-Det Leighton said Ms Bayliss had used as many as 40 different names as she travelled around Australia.
“The minute concerns are trained on her about her identity, she moves to another state,” he said.
Ms Bayliss, representing herself, said she had escaped a cult and found refuge in the church.
She told the court cult leaders continually abducted and tortured her as punishment for leaving.
The court heard Ms Bayliss was seeing a psychiatrist, although a specific illness had not been diagnosed.
Magistrate Duncan Reynolds refused the bail application until Ms Bayliss could present evidence she had somewhere to live if released.
She was remanded to appear again next month.