Woman deceived into sex with woman, jury hears

Blade Silvano is on trial at Cambridge Crown Court

A woman carried out a "sophisticated deception" which led another woman into believing she was having sex with a man, a court has heard.

Blade Silvano, 40, is accused of sexually assaulting a woman she met online, where the defendant claimed to be male looking for a female.

The alleged victim later learned of Ms Silvano's gender through Facebook.

Ms Silvano, of Bishop's Castle, Shropshire, denies two counts of assault by penetration.

Cambridge Crown Court was told the pair met online in late 2016.

In police interview the complainant said: "I believe that I was having a sexual relationship with a man I have now found out to be female, which I have not consented to."

She said she messaged Ms Silvano - who was using the name Blade Mendez - "because his picture was a little bit different to all the other pictures".

The complainant said she set her profile to female seeking a male, while the defendant had the opposite, jurors heard.

After an initial meeting in December 2016 in which the pair kissed, prosecutors claim they met again and had sexual intercourse.

It is alleged Ms Silvano used an unknown item in that act, and did not take off her t-shirt.

Prosecutor Michael Hillman said the defendant said they were an officer in the Army and then while on duty "he'd been trampled by a cow" and was in hospital.

The court was told Ms Silvano had never been in the British Army.

Mr Hillman said the defendant said they were discharged from hospital in February, when the pair met again for sex.

The complainant said on the occasions they were together "he always wore boxer shorts. They never came off. I had never seen them come off".

The court heard the pair had planned to get married in December 2017, but this was postponed due to illnesses the complainant believed the defendant was suffering.

The complainant said in September 2018 when her contacts were synced for a new Facebook account the defendant came up with a "different surname to the one that I'm aware of".

The complainant was later informed Ms Silvano "was in fact a woman", Mr Hillman said.

He said the complainant had "obviously believed she was communicating with a male" and Ms Silvano "regrettably embarked on a sophisticated deception".

The court heard Ms Silvano said the pair had never met in person, "claimed her gender had never come up in conversation" and denied using the name Mendez.

The trial, which is set to last a week, continues.