Latest Offenders Shropshire

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A woman who used ‘careful deception’ to manipulate her victim into thinking she was a man in order to have sex with her has been jailed for more than 10 years.

Blade Silvano made a fake profile on dating website PlentyOfFish in 2016 and posted pictures of herself looking like a man, a judge told Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday.

After meeting a woman on the site and convincing her she was meeting a man, Silvano twice had sex with her using a strap-on sex toy while wearing an oversized T-shirt.

Over the course of 18 months, she misled her victim by claiming she was a British military officer and sending pictures of her appearing to wet shave.

The victim ‘saw a future’ with her and the couple even discussed getting married.

Describing the deception as ‘unspeakably cruel’, Judge Philip Grey said the victim had tried on wedding dresses with her sister and she was left ‘horrified’ when she discovered Silvano’s true identity on Facebook.

During a trial at the same court last May, Silvano told the jury she had never met the victim and the relationship was built on fantasy and online roleplay – an account the judge described as ‘remarkable and at times laughable’.

She was found guilty of two counts of assault by penetration at the end of the trial, and today was sentenced to 10 years and six months imprisonment.

Silvano, of Bishop’s Castle in Shropshire, has also been placed on the sex offender’s register indefinitely.

Judge Grey said it was not a case of gender dysphoria, but a ‘calculated’ series of ‘deceit and lies’ in order to achieve sexual gratification.

He continued: ‘You managed your appearance carefully to look like a man.

‘You deliberately set out to deceive her (and) did so in the most reprehensible way.

‘She was convinced she was having sex with a man. You achieved this with a series of careful deceptions. Her consent is null and void.’

The judge added: ‘This was a fantasy you were playing out for your own selfish enjoyment.

‘You continued to string her along and that was unspeakably cruel. Your lying was constant.’

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A man has been jailed for non-recent child sex offences.

Edgar Collins, 80 from St Andrews Close in Shifnal, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of sexual assault, indecency with a child and indecent assault.

He was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday 23 November.

It follows an investigation by Telford CID.

Detective Constable Richard Cowley, said: “I would like to thank the victims and their families in this case for their courage, bravery and vigour during our investigation. I hope that other victims of sexual offences will take strength and encouragement from this verdict and come forward and report any offences to us, regardless of when they took place.”