A judge has apologised to a victim of sexual assault who was “greatly let down by the failures of the system” after her abuser failed to come to court to be sentenced due to problems finding wheelchair-accessible prison transport.
The woman, who cannot be named, was sexually assaulted by a woman pretending to be a man in 2016 and 2017, whom she had met on a dating site.
Blade Silvano, of Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire, was convicted of sexual assault in May but her sentencing was repeatedly delayed due to problems in the court and prison system, with a judge describing the privately run contract to bring prisoners to court as “a bad joke”.
On Friday, Silvano’s accuser was hoping to read a victim impact statement at Cambridge crown court discussing how her deceit had affected her. But the sentencing was adjourned for a third time after Silvano was not produced, and a pre-sentence report was still not ready.
The victim met Silvano online in late 2016 through the dating website Plenty of Fish, having set her profile to female seeking a male, while the defendant had the opposite, jurors heard.
Prosecutors told jurors Silvano and the accuser had sexual intercourse in December 2016 and February 2017, and that Silvano had used an unknown object and worn boxer shorts when they were in bed together.
Silvano was supposed to be produced in court for the sentencing but did not arrive because Serco, the company contracted to bring prisoners to courts in Cambridge, had not sourced wheelchair-accessible transport for her, a clearly exasperated judge told the victim.
Mr Justice Grey told her: “Miss Silvano has been in a wheelchair for weeks, as I understand it, and requires special transport. The prison assures the court that that transport was booked by them. It has not been provided by the escort company.”
He added: “If the public knew of the amount of time and money that is thrown away, while the court sits empty and we wait for someone to be produced late, yet again, they would be outraged.”
Serco blamed Sodexo, the private company operating HMP Peterborough, where Silvano is being held, the court heard. “Each blames staff shortages and pressure of numbers and staff retention difficulties. But whatever the reasons, the production of prisoners from prison to court has become a bad joke,” the judge said.
In addition, a pre-sentence report had still not been provided for Silvano, the judge said, concluding: “The whole situation, in short, is a complete and total shambles. And the person that is actually most disadvantaged by this, by a long way, is [the victim], who attended today, having waited months for this matter to be concluded, only to find that almost certainly we won’t be able to deal with it again today. She has been greatly let down by the failures of the system.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Over 99 per cent of the approximately 250,000 prisoners brought to court each year arrive on time and contractors face tough penalties if a defendant arrives late.
“Serious incidents of failure are individually investigated and suppliers are held to account when found responsible.”
