A woman who duped another female into having sex during a ‘two-year relationship’ by pretending to be a man was today (Wed) given a lengthy jail sentence.
Blade Silvano, 41, was given ten years and six months in prison after she was found guilty of sexual assault by penetration against an unnamed female victim.
The court previously heard Silvano tricked her into having sexual intercourse on at least two occasions by using an ‘unknown object’ that the victim thought was “her penis”.
The defendant hid her true gender by always wearing a t-shirt and boxers, turning the light off and never allowing the victim to see or touch “her genitalia,” the trial was told.
The couple also messaged and ‘sexted’ every day during their lengthy relationship and had even started planning a wedding.
But the jury heard they only met physically on a few occasions as Silvano had ‘lied’ about having cancer and being in the British Army.
Silvano’s shocked victim discovered her ‘lover’s’ true gender on Facebook nearly two years after they started dating.
And following a five-day trial, she was convicted at Cambridge Crown Court earlier this year, before receiving her prison sentence today.
Detective Constable Leeza Phillips, who investigated the case, said: “This was an extraordinary investigation and unlike any case I’ve seen before in Cambridgeshire.”
“Silvano carried out the ultimate deception and has caused extreme distress to her victim.”
“Without the full facts, the victim was not able to give her consent to a sexual relationship and this whole situation has left her feeling violated and traumatised.”
“As this case highlights, we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”
“I hope the victim and her family can now find some closure from this traumatic period.”
During the trial, the victim previously said she thought she was having sex with a man called Blade Mendez – and had never consented to doing it with a female.
She added: “When we had sex, Blade would usually blindfold me and I was never allowed to look at the penetration occurring.”
“He would never allow me to go near his genital region and I never saw his penis.”
She said she was “able to move my hands freely down the side and his back” but added: “I was never able to put my hands underneath his clothes or down his boxers.”
She added: “He would rebuff me every time I tried to make an advance; he would nudge me away.”
“He was using sex toys on me; it was not allowed the other way round.”
“He told me he was a man and it was on that basis I agreed to have sex with him.”
She added: “He didn’t tell me he was female but he penetrated me with something – and I haven’t consented to it.”
Silvano, of Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, had denied ever meeting the victim and said they had an ‘online relationship’ only that was all about ‘roleplay’ and ‘fantasy.’
She said the thousands of messages between them was all part of the fantasy, as was the planned wedding, which had seen a registrar booked and the defendant going wedding dress shopping with her sister.
Giving evidence, Silvano claimed she was ‘open’ about her gender from the beginning and, although medically a ‘woman’ on her birth certificate, didn’t define herself this way.
She told the jury she was ‘pansexual’ would often use the title ‘Doctor’ which she claimed she was entitled to do after completing an online PHD in ancient Greek history.
Giving her evidence, she accepted they had strong feelings for each other but added: “She knew I was female, again it was the roleplay.”
“We were both having problems at home and it was like our escapism.”
The trial also heard details of thousands of messages sent between the couple, including ones referring to ones referring to her as a “big strong handsome guy.”
She told cops: “This was our roleplay – she wanted that. It doesn’t mean it actually happened. She can tell I’m not male. Her referring to me as a man is roleplay.”
“She knew from the start.”
Silvano acknowledged they had spoken about a wedding but tried to claim it was “not in the real world.”
She also said she had a number of ongoing health issues but although she had been tested for cancer, accepted she had never been diagnosed with it.
She claimed the breakdown in contact came when the alleged victim discovered she was already in another serious relationship through Facebook in 2018 and wanted to report her to the police as an act of “revenge.”
Quizzing the defendant, prosecution barrister Michael Hillman told her: “It was roleplay only for you, as she believed every word you said.”
“She was head over heels in love with you and you exploited that with your constant lies, stringing her along.”
“And you did that because you got a kick out of it, stringing this woman along – holding you out to be someone you are not.”
Silvano was also put on the sex offenders register indefinitely following their sentencing.
