Evil Maya Stepney finally faced judgement in court last night, and was found guilty of having an inappropriate relationship with schoolboy Jacob Gallagher.
On Thursday night (June 20), millions of Emmerdale fans tuned in to see the teacher sent to jail for her crimes – but many were left angry and disappointed with Maya’s lenient sentence and what they perceived to be major flaws in the storyline.
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After a year of grooming Jacob, which eventually ended in the pair having a sexual relationship, Maya was sentenced to a year in jail – a verdict which viewers say wasn’t long enough.
Others feared she would be out in a few months and return to the village to exact her revenge, just in time for an explosive Christmas storyline!
Actually everyone just wants to want to see the back of Maya!
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Maya, played by Louisa Clein, was given a lighter sentence after having the abuse charges reduced down to sexual contact with a minor due to the explicit texts they exchanged.
The judge told her: “You Maya Stepney, a person aged 18 or over, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification intentionally communicated with another person, namely Jacob Gallagher, on the 15 January 2019 by way of text message.
“The communication was sexual and was intended to make Jacob Gallagher engage in communication that is sexual. Jacob Gallagher was under 16.”
The judge and jury believed Maya’s lies that she hadn’t had sex with Jacob, but accused her of betraying her position at the school, and declared: “You betrayed your employer, your partner and the young man at the centre of this who was 15-years-old when the sexual communication took place.
“So I’m in no doubt that the custody threshold has been met. I sentence you to 12 months immediate imprisonment.”
Those watching from home were enraged with the sentence, with one tweeting: “That sentencing is a JOKE!! We were promised that Maya would pay for what she did, this is rubbish #Emmerdale.”
That sentencing is a JOKE!! We were promised that Maya would pay for what she did this is rubbish #Emmerdale
— YT: Shelly Belly (@shellybelly_x) June 20, 2019
The whole show is in a mess. No wonder they can't win any awards. More holes in this storyline than a fishing net.
— lincsbirder2019 (@lincsbirder2019) June 20, 2019
Sorry but that is the most disappointing ending to a story. Think your research team need sacking
— Kerry Wright (@wright1_kerry) June 20, 2019
Everything about this poorly written storyline…. pic.twitter.com/vyR7sblume
— Paul Gibbons (@funkygibbons) June 20, 2019
Priya saw them kissing and didn’t tell the police… but Liv caught Maya and Jacob in bed together and told the police… I don’t understand why the police haven’t taken Liv’s statement into account regardless of Maya’s plea #Emmerdale
— Emmerdale Fans (@TheEmmerdaily) June 20, 2019
i'm sorry but maya got 12 months and will do 6 of that sentence… i'm happy that she got her justice but it isn't long enough!! #emmerdale
— Louise❤️ (@xloucliftonx) June 20, 2019
Another said: “The whole show is in a mess. No wonder they can’t win any awards. More holes in this storyline than a fishing net.”
A third raged: “Do your storyline writers not remember that the local police saw Maya in Jacob’s company? This trial and story makes a complete mockery of real individuals who are groomed and abused. #disgusted #emmerdalefail.”
Some called the conclusion “a crap ending”, “unsatisfactory” and “a total farce”, and others wondered why Liv had not appeared in court to describe catching the pair in bed together.
But others insisted it WAS realistic as the bad guys do sometimes get away with it, and some believed a male in Maya’s position would have had a tougher sentence.
Meanwhile, Jacob is still under Maya’s spell. Will she return to the village when she is released and run away with Jacob as they have planned?
Are you satisfied with Maya’s sentence? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!