Serial fantasist Nelly Yoa walks from court after appealing prison term
After claiming he was mates with Usain Bolt and crashing the Brownlow red carpet, Nelly Yoa’s web of lies and deception finally came crashing down. A forensic psychologist has revealed what could have been behind his over-the-top fabrications.
Law & Order
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A narcissistic fame seeker with delusions of grandeur will spend five months behind bars for lying to police.
A week ago, serial fantasist Nelly Yoa arrived at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in a rented Rolls Royce but was today set to leave in a prison van as magistrate Felicity Broughton said his offending struck at the heart of the justice system.
Within minutes of being led into the cells, Yoa had launched an appeal against his sentence. The 30-year-old was granted bail and walked free from court while he awaits his appeal date.
Earlier, Yoa ditched the bright pink suit — and the eight-person security detail that accompanied him to his last court appearance — and kept a low profile as he snuck into court dressed in black.
His lawyer, Chris McLennan, told the court his client had lost his job after the publicity his earlier stunt had attracted.
“Which is his own fault,” Mr McLennan said.
The father of three has previously made headlines for crashing the Brownlow Medal red carpet and making wild claims including that Usain Bolt was present at the birth of his child and that he was a brand ambassador for Nike and American Express.
But those fanciful claims have since been proven false.
Yesterday, Yoa was sentenced to five months’ jail for two counts of perjury, making a false statement to police and breaching a court order.
The wannabe footballer had earlier this year pleaded guilty to the offending after he told officers in 2016 he was threatened by a knife-wielding woman at his home in Dandenong.
Then, in May last year, he again lied to police, saying the woman confronted him with a handgun in Melbourne’s CBD. He called triple-0 after claiming he ran through the city to escape her.
Ms Broughton said his offending and lies impacted not only his victim, but also the entire justice system.
A forensic psychologist suggested Yoa may have made up the false claims to protect the “public image” he had attempted to create for himself, the court heard.
“Your preoccupation with your reputation and public image are a confabulation of a narcissistic individual,” Ms Broughton said of the report findings.
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“Whether it’s been your reporting of associations with famous sporting stars, with your own sporting prowess or your promotion and elevation of your role in the Sudanese community.”
Ms Broughton said these claims had not been able to be substantiated “by any evidence”.
The court also heard Yoa had a history of meth and cocaine abuse and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his upbringing in war-torn South Sudan.
Ms Broughton said she had taken into account Yoa’s guilty plea — though she said it had been “slow coming” — and the impact of his troubled childhood.
His appeal will be heard in August.