A former British Olympic swimmer, Antony James, has been sentenced to 21 years imprisonment for raping two teenage girls in the United Kingdom.
The 35-year-old man, who represented Great Britain at the 2012 London Olympic Games, was convicted of grooming and repeatedly abusing the two schoolgirls over the years.
The father-of-one was also accused of filming himself while making out with young women, and taking indecent photos of his victims 13 years ago.
During his sentencing at the Plymouth Crown Court on Wednesday, James was found guilty of three counts bordering on sexual activity with a child and one count of raping a 16-year-old teenager.
However, the defendant’s lawyer, Joe KC prayed the court to reflect on his good character and consider giving him a chance.
‘Yes, he is going to prison, he knows that, but there is another side to his character the court can reflect on. The fall from grace from the Olympics is a fall from grace of Shakespearean proportions ” KC said.
The delivering judge, Justice Robert Linford, opposed this, saying he was a ‘high-achieving swimmer’ who was ‘held in high regard by many’ but had ‘ruthlessly exploited that’ for his sexual pleasure.
According to the Judge, ” Despite the defendant’s claims, the ‘evidence you knew full well her age was utterly overwhelming. You knew what you were doing was seriously wrong but your desire for this young person overtook your self-control”
“These offences span the period between 2012 and 2016 and by 2016 your interest in the second victim had taken over. There were two occasions of rape. She found it painful yet you persisted. She did not resist – instead, she submitted – that is very far from consent.’
Following the lengthy evidence brought against him, Linford sentenced James to eight years in relation to offences committed against the first victim and 13 years for the second.
The judge also ruled that he would serve two thirds of his sentence before being released on license and would be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
