A former Olympic swimmer has been jailed for 21 years for sexual offences, including the rape of two teenage girls under 18. The court heard he raped one girl in the kitchen of her home and the other in a car. Plymouth Crown Court heard the offences took place between 2012 and 2022. 

Antony James, 35, of Fort Terrace, Plymouth represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympics. He had also won a silver medal for his country at the Commonwealth Games in 2010. He was training to be a police officer with Devon and Cornwall Police at the time of his arrest in January 2022. He would be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Addressing James about his first victim, the judge said: "You knew what you were doing was seriously wrong but your desire for that young person overtook your self-control. She believed that you two were in a relationship. It seems that indeed what had been manufactured was a relationship, but then you betrayed that by raping her in her own home."

Senior Crown prosecutor Gemma Kneebone said: "James was well aware of how young these victims were. He set out to take advantage of this in a truly appalling manner, continuing to offend against them after they turned 16."

Ms Kneebone said the prosecution would not have been possible without the evidence "so bravely provided by the young women involved".

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp7ypd9p1o