By John Ogunsemore
A transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexually assaulting a man by concealing her biological sex during intimate encounters, a UK court ruled on Friday.
Watkin, 21, was convicted of three counts of sexual assault following a trial at Teesside Crown Court in August.
In convicting the defendant, the jury accepted the prosecution’s argument that the victim would not have consented to the acts had he known Watkin was biologically male.
Prosecutor, Peter Reid told the court that the pair, who were both 18 at the time, met on the social media platform Snapchat, where Watkin used a female cartoon character as her profile picture.
They arranged to meet in person at a house in Thornaby, North Yorkshire, where Watkin performed sex acts on the victim while taking steps to prevent him from discovering her male genitalia, including claiming to be on her period, moving his hands away from her body, and insisting the bathroom lights be turned off.
Watkin later revealed she was biologically male, and the victim filed a complaint with the police.
He told police he would not have agreed to meet Watkin if he knew her history as he did “not swing that way”.
The victim, in a statement read to the court, described feeling “physically sick,” “shocked and upset,” and “ashamed and embarrassed” upon learning the truth.
He further said he had been “ridiculed online due to Watkin’s actions and deception”.
The victim emphasised to the court that as a heterosexual male, he would not have consented to the acts had he known Watkin’s biological status, stating it felt like “part of his masculinity [was] taken away.”
Prosecutors argued that Watkin’s lies invalidated the victim’s consent.
However, defence attorney, Victoria Lamballe told the court that her client had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, identified as female since primary school, and has a history of bullying and neglect from drug-addicted parents.
Lamballe further argued that Watkin’s actions stemmed from “shame” and “discomfort with her body,” rather than predatory intent.
Judge Peter Makepeace KC stated he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was a female due to her “lies and deception”.
The judge said Watkin told lies to “get away” from her actions knowing fully well the man would not have consented if he known she was a “birth male” with male genitalia.
Judge Makepeace also said the defendant appeared “flippant” showed “no remorse” to the victim during the trial.
The judge said Watkin would serve her sentence at a prison for men but measures would be in place to “minimise the risk” to her and “maximise the support”.
Watkin was mandated to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and the court also issued a restraining order banning her from contacting the victim for life.
The post UK court jails trans woman for lying about biological sex to sleep with man appeared first on The Sun Nigeria.
