Woman 'posed as man to sexually assault' short-sighted teenager she met on Snapchat
Georgia Bilham is on trial accused of 17 sex offences after she allegedly posed as a male gang member on Snapchat, with a court hearing she was exposed by the alleged victim's suspicious mother
A woman posed as a man on Snapchat to "deceive" another woman into having sex with her, a court heard.
Georgia Bilham is accused of using the alias 'George Parry' - who she allegedly claimed was a gang member - to hook a 19-year-old into a fake relationship.
The 21-year-old was "exposed" when the mother of the 19-year-old became suspicious of the relationship, believing 'George Parry' was not a man.
Bilham is on trial charged with 17 sex offences, including sexual assault and assault by penetration.
Anna Pope, prosecuting, told Chester Crown court that it was a case of "deception".
"It is a case about this defendant deceiving someone that she was, in a fact, a young man," she said.
"That other person believed that she was a young man."
"And that means, we say, that all the sexual activity that took place between those two people, was based on a false pretence - and so did not involve true consent.
The jury heard how the pair began messaging online and they eventually met up.
Their relationship became sexual and throughout this time, it's alleged, the woman believed George was a boy.
The prosecution claim that although the victim, who can't be named for legal reasons, agreed to the sexual activity with George, she didn't consent to sexual activity with the defendant.
"We say that Georgia knew this this - and this was one of the reasons why she never disclosed that she was a woman," said Ms Pope.
Bilham allegedly used the Snapchat profile name 'George_132X' which included the cartoon image of a blonde man with sunglasses.
She's accused of creating the character 'George Parry', supposedly from Birmingham and with links to Albanian criminal gang members, so she could "form a connection" with the alleged victim.
Ms Pope said it wasn't known if Bilham was sexually attracted to the woman or or whether she "gained some form of buzz from duping" her.
The jury heard how Bilham would dress up as George by wearing boy's clothes and whenever 'he' met the woman his hood would be pulled up.
By May 2021, the pair were spending more time together and George would pick the woman up in his car.
The woman was short-sighted and "essentially blind" without her glasses, which George would take off when they were together so - for much of the time - she couldn't see him clearly.
One occasion the car came off the road, Ms Pope said, and Bilham is said to have "panicked" when police arrived fearing her true identity would be revealed.
The court heard the woman overheard officers mention the name "Georgia" and allegedly confronted George about whether he was a girl, only be told he was using a "fake licence".
When the alleged victim told him he had until the next day to prove he was man, George, who said he didn't have a passport, sent her selfie type photos of a young man with blonde hair and no top on.
He also allegedly told her: "On my way back to Brum with Slitta, he picked up kilos and decided to get in a police chase" - which, the prosecution say, was to "keep up the pretence'" of having criminal associates.
Prosecutors said the pair continued to meet, but the woman grew "frustrated" that George showed an unwillingness to be touched intimately, and often "gave excuses".
And when staying over at her home he continued to wear his clothes, even in bed, the court heard.
The court heard the woman found a bank card belonging to a 'Georgia Bilham' in his car, and that he "lied" and claimed he'd used it to pay his road tax.
But, it's claimed, George's true identity was revealed in August 2021 when he met the woman's mum for the first time at their home.
She'd seen photos of him and told her daughter she didn't believe he was the same person - or even a man at all.
Searches and enquires by the woman on Bilham's Facebook page then revealed George's 'grandmother' was actually her mother.
Ms Pope said that as the woman asked more questions, "she began to realise the persona of George Parry was entirely fake, created by the real George, Georgia Bilham."
Bilham, who's said to have apologised to the woman for what happened, told her: "'I don't even dress like a lad, it just took over my life".
She was later arrested and charged but answered 'no comment' to all questions during police interviews.
Bilham, of Alpraham, Cheshire, denies all 17 charges and the trial continues.