Woman who posed as a man to deceive ‘short-sighted girlfriend’ could face prison

Georgia Bilham was found guilty of sexual assault by kissing but cleared of 16 other offences.

A woman who was accused of posing as a man in order to deceive a short-sighted female victim into having a relationship could face prison after being found guilty of sexual assault by kissing.

Georgia Bilham, 21, was cleared of 16 other offences following a 10-day trial at Chester Crown Court.

Bilham was accused of renaming herself “George Parry”, disguising herself in men’s clothing and removing her victim’s glasses whenever they were together, to fool her into believing she was in a genuine heterosexual relationship.

Bilham denied nine counts of sexual assault and eight counts of assault by penetration between May and August 2021.

She made no reaction as she was cleared of all but one of the charges.

The jury heard how the defendant’s online profile had the name “George_132″ and featured a cartoon image of a blonde man with sunglasses.

The pair began messaging one another online before eventually meeting up in person when the defendant wore boy’s clothing and kept her hood pulled up.

Posing as George Parry, Bilham claimed to have links with an Albanian crime gang in order to support the deception.

Bilham said after the first time they met in person the complainant messaged her to say, “There’s something weird about you,” and blocked her on Snapchat.

But there continued to be an online “love-hate relationship”, which became “toxic” at times, the court heard.

Bilham said she believed her cover was blown after crashing her mother’s car into a hedge while out for a drive with the teenager on May 11, 2021.

Jurors convicted her of sexually assaulting the girl by kissing her that evening.

Revealed her true identity

Bilham told jurors she believes a police officer called to the scene revealed her true identity to the complainant after checking her driving licence.

She said: “I think they told her I was female. It was not George, it was Georgia.”

The defendant said from that point she believes the teenager knew she was really a woman.

The court was told that the victim was short-sighted and whenever they were together claimed the defendant would remove her glasses for much of the time, so she could not see Bilham clearly.

The victim was described as being short-sighted with anything more than 14cm from her face being blurred, meaning that without her glasses she was “essentially blind”.

Bilham admitted being caught up in a “web of lies” but denied getting a “buzz” out of deceiving the teenager, maintaining throughout that she thought the woman she had sex with believed she was a woman.

She told the court she had been “a bit of a tomboy” when she was younger and had a difficult relationship with her mother after her parents split when she was a teenager.

Bilham said she never wanted to change gender but questioned her sexuality and that her mother would “not be happy” if she was in a same-sex relationship.

Hide her sexuality

Asked why she set up the fake Snapchat account pretending to be a boy, Bilham replied: “I just was not happy in myself. I just ... it was just more like an escape. I don’t know.

“I was not confident in myself. It was a stupid thing to do. It was a way of not being me.”

Bilham’s barrister, Martine Snowdon, suggested in court that her actions were an effort to hide her sexuality among her family and friends.

After the verdict was announced, Mairead Neeson, the senior crown prosecutor, said: “This has devastated the victim and her family and the effects of it will remain with her for a long time. The victim thought she was in a loving relationship with a man, but it was all lies, and Bilham is now a convicted sex offender.”

Judge Michael Leeming bailed Bilham ahead of sentencing on July 19 but warned her that it was “no indication” a custodial sentence wouldn’t be imposed.