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Woman denies deceiving dating app user by posing as Army captain, court hears
A woman, Blade Silvano, is on trial accused of posing as a male Army captain and surgeon called “Hunter” on Plenty of Fish, then having sex with a female user who believed she was a man. Prosecutors told Caernarfon Crown Court the alleged deception was deliberate and continued for months.
The prosecution says the pair met for sex between November 2022 and June 2023, with the alleged victim kept from seeing or touching Silvano’s groin. It alleges Silvano claimed a condom had broken and reassured her, “Trust me, I’m a doctor”; the victim later learned Silvano was a woman after being contacted by someone presented as Hunter’s wife. Silvano denies the allegation that the victim did not know she was a woman, and faces six counts of sexual assault by penetration.
In short
- Blade Silvano is on trial over allegations of posing as a male Army officer.
- Prosecutors say the deception lasted for months and involved sex.
- Silvano says the alleged victim knew she was a woman.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The prosecution’s strongest case is that, if the alleged identity deception was deliberate and sustained, and the complainant agreed to sex believing Silvano was a man, that false belief may have been central to her decision to consent. The alleged concealment and reassurances could support the claim that the complainant was intentionally kept from discovering information that mattered to her choice.
The case against
Silvano’s strongest case is that the prosecution must prove the specific allegations, including that the complainant did not know Silvano was a woman and that the circumstances meet the legal test for the charges. The reported account is incomplete and contested; a false online persona, even if established, does not by itself resolve what the complainant knew or whether each alleged act amounted to sexual assault by penetration.
Explained simply
Plenty of Fish is an online dating service where people create profiles and meet potential partners. In this case, prosecutors say Blade Silvano used the name “Hunter” and claimed to be a male Army captain and surgeon when she met a woman through the app.
Silvano faces six charges of sexual assault by penetration. She denies that the woman believed she was a man; the trial is examining what the woman understood about Silvano’s identity during their encounters.
The case concerns how consent is assessed when someone is alleged to have concealed their identity. The court must consider the evidence and decide whether the prosecution has proved the charges.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Woman posed as male Army officer on Plenty of Fish in ‘cruel con’ to dupe female victim into sex, court hears”.