Woman 'posed as a man to trick females into intimacy'

A WOMAN accused of tricking two other women into sexual intimacy by pretending to be a man appeared in court yesterday.

Samantha Brooks, 26, allegedly posed as a man named Lee Brooks in order to obtain sexual contact with the women by fraud.

It is claimed Brooks kept up the pretence with the first woman for nearly nine years, while the second relationship lasted for eight months.

Brooks, who denies the charges, appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh for a brief preliminary hearing. Her counsel, Ronnie Renucci, told the court the defence was not yet ready for trial and that "a number of matters" were outstanding.

Judge Lord Stewart fixed another preliminary hearing for next month, when a trial date may be fixed.

Brooks faces four charges in total, two of which allege she obtained "sexual intimacy or contact" by fraud.

As part of the charges, it is claimed she pretended to each of the two women that she suffered from testicular cancer and that they could not touch her intimately.

The next preliminary hearing will be held on 8 March at the High Court in Edinburgh.