Team GB swimmer Antony James handed 21-year jail sentence for rape of two schoolgirls

A former British Olympian has been jailed for up to 21 years after raping two schoolgirls and forcing them to have sex with "strange" men.

Antony James, who competed at the London 2012 Games, was today sentenced after what Plymouth Crown Court was told was a "Shakespearean fall from grace" for "a serial liar and manipulator."

James was found guilty last October of eight offences in total - three rapes and three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, plus two charges of causing or inciting a child into sexual activity.

The 34-year-old from Plymouth was cleared of three other charges and the jury failed to return verdicts on six other sex charges, which included five counts of rape.

The court was told the alleged offences took place over a 10-year period between 2012 and 2022 and when James was arrested he had been working as a trainee police officer. The Devon and Cornwall force, who immediately suspended James, have since confirmed he no longer works for them.

Gemma Kneebone from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Antony James manipulated and controlled his teenage victims to fulfil his own sexual desires.

“He claimed that these young victims were over 16 at the time, but this was a lie which collapsed under scrutiny.

"James was well aware of how young these victims were, and he set out to take advantage of this in a truly appalling manner, continuing to offend against them after they turned 16.

“This prosecution would not have been possible without the evidence so bravely provided by the young women involved, and I would like to thank them for coming forward to support the case."