Woman 'masqueraded as man to date female partner for 9 years'

A WOMAN allegedly dated another female for almost nine years - while posing as a man.

Samantha Brooks is said to have claimed her name was "Lee Brooks" to have sex with the woman.

The 26-year-old faces a string of accusations including a claim that she proposed to her and pretended to have cancer in a bid to avoid being intimately touched.

She also alleged to have duped another woman, by telling her that Samantha Brooks was her twin sister.

Brooks yesterday made her first appearance in the dock at the High Court in Glasgow. She faces two fraud charges said to have taken place at addresses in Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, and a property in Uxbridge, London.

Brooks is accused of pretending to be a man to the first female between January 2001 and December 2009 to "obtain sexual intimacy or contact" with her.

The alleged con involves a total of 12 different claims. These include an accusation that she lied about suffering testicular cancer which made her private parts painful to touch.

Brooks is also said to have pretended that she suffered burns that required her to wear bandages in an attempt to hide her breasts.

She is further alleged to have used enough bubblebath to conceal her body from the woman. Brooks is then said to have wanted to marry the woman.

She is also said to have sent mail in the name of Lee Brooks, a picture of a naked man claiming to be herself and is said to have stood up to go to the toilet.

The second fraud allegation allegedly occurred between February and September last year. This woman is said to have been targeted in a similar way to the first. This includes claims that the accused proposed to her and pretended that mail in the name of Samantha Brooks belonged to her twin sister.

Brooks also yesterday faced two assault charges against both women. One is said to involve her threatening to lock the second female in the London property and set fire to it.

Her lawyer, Ronnie Renucci, entered a not guilty plea to all accusations.

Mr Renucci said defence inquiries were continuing and that he was not ready for trial.

Judge Lord Bannatyne continued the case until another preliminary hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh on 9 February.