A British woman is accused of tricking a short-sighted woman into sex by pretending to be a man while requesting that the woman take off her glasses.
Georgia Bilham, a 21-year-old woman who went by the alias "George Parry," allegedly tricked a 19-year-old woman into a sexual relationship by creating fake social media profiles and messaging the victim with the username "George_132," according to a report in the New York Post.
Bilham Asked Victim to Take Off Glasses Before Engaging in Sexual Activity
After talking online, the duo agreed to meet in 2021. The teenaged woman's reported "very poor" vision was allegedly exploited by Bilham, who insisted her partner take off her glasses before engaging in any sexual activity, leaving the victim "essentially blind."
Bilham reportedly used a picture of a cartoon blonde man wearing sunglasses as a social media picture. In one instance, the victim reported that she attempted to remove Bilham's Calvin Klein boxers but was rebuffed, with Bilham reasoning that she was self-conscious about fabricated scabbing scars she had on her body.
"It is a case about this defendant deceiving someone that she was, in fact, a young man," prosecutor Anna Pope said to open the trial, according to the report.
Victim Became Suspicious After Police Referred to Bilham as 'Georgia' Instead of 'George'
Eventually, the alleged victim became frustrated that her partner kept giving excuses, adding that "George" carried out sex acts on her but did not let her touch him. She said she believed she had felt a penis through clothing on two occasions when they were together.
She said that the first time she had even questioned that George was a girl was following a car crash that the pair were involved in during May 2021. She allegedly overheard police at the crash refer to "George" as "Georgia", and she began to question George's real gender and identity.
The complainant also saw a driving licence under the name of Georgia Bilham inside the car on a separate occasion and questioned why that was there. Bilham told the victim she was using a fake driver's license.
The teenaged girl became increasingly suspicious as time went on and began asking Bilham to prove her identity, though Bilham claimed to not have a passport and instead produced photos of a young blonde man.
But the victim's feelings were finally confirmed in August 2021, when attempting to introduce Bilham to her mother, who voiced suspicions that her daughter's partner was not a man.
"Just admit you've been caught out, I know more than enough now," the victim eventually reportedly wrote to Bilham after doing more online research.
"I don't even dress like a lad, it just took over my life," Bilham responded.
Bilham Denies Charges, Claims Victim Knew She was a Woman
Bilham was eventually arrested and faces charges including sexual assault and assault by penetration. "All the sexual activity that took place between those two people, was based on a false pretense – and so did not involve true consent," Pope told jurors.
Bilham refused to cooperate with investigators upon her arrest and has strongly denied the charges, while the defense is expected to question whether or not the alleged victim really knew Bilham was a woman.
