KEY POINTS

  • The British woman accused Blade Silvano of posing as a man even in the bedroom
  • She reportedly told her friends that Silvano was 'insecure' and refused to be touched
  • The alleged victim said she discovered Silvano's ploy when she saw her true gender on Facebook

A British woman allegedly duped her girlfriend into believing she was a man for two years.

Blade Silvano, 40, is currently on trial and appeared at Cambridge Crown Court on Tuesday after being accused of tricking her lover in a "sophisticated" scam.

Silvano and the unidentified partner met on the online dating platform called Plenty of Fish, the court heard. Silvano wrote in her status that she was a "man looking for a woman" at the time and went on to match with the British woman, who was reportedly looking for a man, according to Wales Online.

"I've only known Blade as a man," said the alleged victim, who continued referring to Silvano as "he/him" during her testimony.

The woman reportedly knew Silvano as Blade Mendez and was made to believe that Silvano served in the British Army and also survived cancer.

She accused Silvano of posing as a man even in the bedroom and using an "unknown item" to penetrate her on two separate occasions. The alleged victim told the court that Silvano would also keep her t-shirt and boxers on the entire time while they were having sex.

"I was able to move my hands freely, the side, his back, I was never able to put my hands underneath his clothes or down his boxers," the woman told the court.

"He would rebuff me every time I tried to make an advance, he would nudge me away," she said, adding that Silvano would use sex toys on her but "it was not allowed the other way round."

The court heard how the alleged victim told her friends that Silvano was "insecure" and refused to be touched.

"She said she had not seen Blade's penis as he would never have the light on when they had sex," a witness said in court.

The couple also started talking about marrying each other, and the woman said she went looking for wedding dresses. But Silvano later used a fake cancer diagnosis to cancel the engagement.

The woman said she finally discovered Silvano's ploy when she saw her true gender on Facebook nearly two years after they met, the New York Post reported.

The defense argued in court that Silvano and the alleged victim never actually met "in the flesh" and that most of what Silvano is accused of was part of their roleplay.

Even the name Mendez was "part of a fantasy that was created by the two of you" and was chosen because it was the "surname of a football player," defense barrister Debra White said in court.

White said the discussions about their wedding were also part of their roleplay.

The alleged victim denied having any sexual interest in women when she matched with Silvano and denied identifying herself as bisexual at the time.

"Did you tell her your sexual fantasy was to have sex with a woman?" White asked, to which the woman responded "No."

Silvano denied two counts of assault by penetration.

The trial is expected to continue for five days.

Representational image (couple)
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