Former Olympic swimmer Antony James accused of multiple sex offenses
Antony James, the former British Olympic swimmer is facing multiple allegations of sexual offenses.
The two-time Commonwealth Games medallist is facing several charges including rape. James, now 33 years old, stood before the judge at the Plymouth Magistrates Court facing a total of 21 charges.
The charges include multiple counts of rape and engaging in sexual activity with minors under the age of 16. The alleged incidents occurred between 2012 to 2022. Conditional bail was granted to James without considering any pleas.
James worked as a student officer with Devon and Cornell Police in southwest England and has been suspended after his initial arrest. The department has confirmed that he is no longer an employee of the force.
His alleged crimes include engaging in coercive behavior and in sexual communication with a child. He has been accused of two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a female aged 13 to 15 and causing a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity.
The other accusations include three counts of rape of a woman aged 16 years or over and three counts of intentionally encouraging in the commission of rape. He is also accused of possessing an indecent photograph of a child and an assault leading to actual bodily harm.
James will appear at Plymouth Crown Court for his plea and next hearing on October 9, 2023.
A look at Antony James' swimming career
Antony James has competed at major international swimming competitions including the Olympics, FINA World Championships, European Championships, and Commonwealth Games.
At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, he competed in the men's 100m butterfly finishing 31st with a time of 53.25 seconds. At the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India he secured a silver medal in the men's 100m butterfly event. He also has a bronze medal from the same competition in the men's 4x100m medley relay event.
James made his international debut at the 2009 European Short Course Championships in Istanbul, Turkey where he finished seventh in the 100m butterfly event with a time of 50.66 seconds.
The following year, he competed at the 2010 European Aquatics Championships and made it to the finals in the 100m butterfly, finishing in eighth position clocking 52.67 seconds. He also represented Great Britain at the 2013 World University Games and competed in the 2016 British Olympic trials.