A pilot repeatedly raped a woman in a cruel con which his victim believed was part of an elaborate course of treatment for herpes, a jury heard today.
Syrian-born Fadi Sbano, 38, allegedly conned his victim into handing over hard cash for the cream he administered through sex.
The Britannia Airways pilot, from Edgware, north London, pocketed £5,500 in total in an alleged scam running over several months.
Swansea Crown Court heard today that Sbano originally told his victim, a woman from Pembrokeshire, west Wales, he was dying of cancer.
He claimed he had been told he had just six months to live and that sex was the only way to alleviate his condition.
As a result the woman, 36, a former teacher in a private school, readily agreed to have sex with him in an effort to relieve his pain.
Later she developed an illness which doctors at first believed was typhoid but which was eventually diagnosed as herpes.
At that point Sbano stepped in with what he claimed was advice from a friend who was a consultant regarding the best way to carry out her treatment.
He offered to administer an expensive cream, which he got the woman to pay for, through regular anal sex which he timed with a clock.
He had previously told her that the cream, developed in America, was very expensive and the treatment usually painful.
In evidence she told the court today: “I thought that he was doing it in my interests and for my benefit. I thought I was consenting to a medical procedure.”
Sbano denies nine counts of rape by deception on the woman, in the form of anal sex between January and November 2001.
He also denies 11 separate counts of obtaining cash amounting to £5,500 by deception.
Huw Rees, prosecuting, said Sbano introduced the woman to a Muslim doctor he claimed was a consultant at Royal Marsden Hospital, in London.
He said she claimed the doctor confirmed Sbano was dying of cancer and the defendant later explained how sex alleviated his pain.
“They had sex frequently, sometimes two or three times a day, the prosecution say in a clinical and emotionless manner,” Mr Rees said.
He said Sbano claimed he attended East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, for treatment and the woman would sometimes take him there.
He went on to describe how the woman then developed the symptoms of an illness herself.
“She had a crop of white spots forming around her anus. Typhoid was suspected but tests showed that it was herpes.”
Sbano then claimed to have consulted his friend regarding treatment and suggested sex as the best way to administer it.
Mr Rees said the woman was scared at the prospect of sex in the way it was described but believed what Sbano told her.
“The defendant, it seems, would time the insertions with a clock at the bedside,” Mr Rees added.
“She found it was clinical and unpleasant but she believed that it was the proper application of this cream.”
He said that the treatment as carried out by Sbano would last for between one and 10 minutes on each application.
He said that over time it began to dawn on the woman that Sbano had devised the treatment only to have sex with her on his terms.
She eventually complained to the police about her alleged treatment at his hands. By then she had returned to live in west Wales.
After his arrest Sbano claimed he knew nothing about the treatment and alleged the woman had “concocted the whole story”.
The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.
Syrian-born Fadi Sbano, 38, allegedly conned his victim into handing over hard cash for the cream he administered through sex.
The Britannia Airways pilot, from Edgware, north London, pocketed £5,500 in total in an alleged scam running over several months.
Swansea Crown Court heard today that Sbano originally told his victim, a woman from Pembrokeshire, west Wales, he was dying of cancer.
He claimed he had been told he had just six months to live and that sex was the only way to alleviate his condition.
As a result the woman, 36, a former teacher in a private school, readily agreed to have sex with him in an effort to relieve his pain.
Later she developed an illness which doctors at first believed was typhoid but which was eventually diagnosed as herpes.
At that point Sbano stepped in with what he claimed was advice from a friend who was a consultant regarding the best way to carry out her treatment.
He offered to administer an expensive cream, which he got the woman to pay for, through regular anal sex which he timed with a clock.
He had previously told her that the cream, developed in America, was very expensive and the treatment usually painful.
In evidence she told the court today: “I thought that he was doing it in my interests and for my benefit. I thought I was consenting to a medical procedure.”
Sbano denies nine counts of rape by deception on the woman, in the form of anal sex between January and November 2001.
He also denies 11 separate counts of obtaining cash amounting to £5,500 by deception.
Huw Rees, prosecuting, said Sbano introduced the woman to a Muslim doctor he claimed was a consultant at Royal Marsden Hospital, in London.
He said she claimed the doctor confirmed Sbano was dying of cancer and the defendant later explained how sex alleviated his pain.
“They had sex frequently, sometimes two or three times a day, the prosecution say in a clinical and emotionless manner,” Mr Rees said.
He said Sbano claimed he attended East Surrey Hospital, Redhill, for treatment and the woman would sometimes take him there.
He went on to describe how the woman then developed the symptoms of an illness herself.
“She had a crop of white spots forming around her anus. Typhoid was suspected but tests showed that it was herpes.”
Sbano then claimed to have consulted his friend regarding treatment and suggested sex as the best way to administer it.
Mr Rees said the woman was scared at the prospect of sex in the way it was described but believed what Sbano told her.
“The defendant, it seems, would time the insertions with a clock at the bedside,” Mr Rees added.
“She found it was clinical and unpleasant but she believed that it was the proper application of this cream.”
He said that the treatment as carried out by Sbano would last for between one and 10 minutes on each application.
He said that over time it began to dawn on the woman that Sbano had devised the treatment only to have sex with her on his terms.
She eventually complained to the police about her alleged treatment at his hands. By then she had returned to live in west Wales.
After his arrest Sbano claimed he knew nothing about the treatment and alleged the woman had “concocted the whole story”.
The trial was adjourned until tomorrow.
