Woman posed as a man to con partner into having sex with her

A “calculated” manipulator who posed as a man to deceive a woman into having sex with her has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Blade Silvano made a fake profile and posted pictures of herself looking like a man when she met her victim on Plenty of Fish in 2016, a judge told Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday.

Silvano used “careful deception” to convince her victim she was a man, twice having sex with her using a strap-on sex toy and concealing her lower half with an oversized t-shirt.

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She continued to mislead her victim in an “unspeakably cruel” manner for around 18 months, claiming she was a British military officer, sending pictures of herself appearing to wet shave, and even suggesting she wanted to get married. Her victim “saw a future” with Silvano but was left “horrified” when she finally discovered her true identity on Facebook.

Silvano, of Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, was found guilty of two counts of assault by penetration during a trial at the same court last May.

Silvano claimed to have never met the victim, telling a jury the relationship was based on fantasy and online roleplay. Judge Philip Grey described her “transparently dishonest account” as “remarkable and at times laughable”.

He sentenced her to 10 years and six months imprisonment on Wednesday and placed her on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

Judge Grey said it was not a case of gender dysphoria but of using “deceit and lies” to achieve sexual gratification, describing Silvano’s actions as “calculated”.

He said: “You managed your appearance