Online Dating Deception: Woman convicted in second sexual assault case
A 44-year-old defendant was found guilty of six counts of sexual assault after convincing a partner she was a male military officer.
By Lauren Foster ·
Blade Silvano, 44, received a guilty verdict on Tuesday for six counts of sexual assault by penetration. The conviction stems from a relationship in North Wales where she posed as a man. A jury at Caernarfon crown court found her liable for offenses committed between November 2022 and June 2023.
Silvano, who resides in Shropshire, is already serving a prison sentence for a similar crime. In 2023, a Cambridge jury sentenced her after she deceived a partner using a blindfold and a fabricated persona. She is now facing a second conviction for the same pattern of behavior.
The current victim met Silvano on the Plenty of Fish dating site. Silvano used the alias Hunter and identified herself as a male captain and surgeon in the army. The two met in person for sexual encounters, during which Silvano kept the lighting low and prevented the victim from touching her intimately.
During one incident, Silvano claimed her condom had broken. She told the victim that pregnancy was very unlikely. She stated, Trust me, I’m a doctor. The victim accepted these assurances based on the professional title Silvano had claimed.
Doubts began to form when the victim noticed Silvano sounded a little feminine. She also described their sex life as odd. The deception ended when Silvano's long-term female partner called the victim. The caller revealed that Hunter was actually a woman.
The victim told police she felt sick upon learning the truth. She said she thought it was some sort of joke. In court, she stated she believed she was in a relationship with a straight, heterosexual man. She added that she would never go out with a woman.
Philip Clemo, the prosecutor, described Silvano as a gifted con artist. He suggested she may have been inspired by the myth of Zeus turning into a bull. The court heard that Silvano had previously used the name Blade Mendez for a two-year relationship in Cambridgeshire between 2016 and 2017.
In that earlier case, Silvano sent photos of herself shaving her face. She pretended to urinate while standing. She told the victim she was body conscious due to army injuries. The couple became engaged, and the victim tried on wedding dresses. The victim discovered the truth in September 2018 after finding Silvano on Facebook in a different living situation.
Judge Jones ordered a pre-sentence report for Silvano. The report will assess the risk she poses. She will be sentenced for the six new sexual assault counts next month.
