A transgender prisoner has been accused of sexually assaulting four female inmates after being sent to a women’s prison, despite not having had reassignment surgery.
It is alleged the first attack took place within days of the inmate arriving at New Hall jail in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
The prisoner, who has been living as a woman for more than two years, was seen visibly aroused during the assault at the high security complex.
A transgender prisoner has been accused of sexually assaulting four female inmates after being sent to a women’s prison in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, despite not having had reassignment surgery
The alleged victim – an inmate with whom the inmate had become friends with – said she could see the prisoner’s erect penis at the time of the assault.
There are also claims the prisoner made inappropriate comments about oral sex to another prisoner, while a third says she was also attacked and a fourth claims she was kissed on the neck my the transgender inmate.
The transgender prisoner has now been sent to a Category B men’s jail in a case that will reignite the debate over whether such prisoners should be sent to women’s jails prior to gender reassignment surgery.
The prisoner, who has been living as a woman for more than two years, was seen visibly aroused during the assault at the high security complex
The recent figures indicate there were 125 transgender prisoners in England and Wales up to the end of March 2017, an increase from 70 a year earlier.
Currently, transgender women can only legally change their gender on their birth certificate if they have been medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and have lived as a woman for two years.
Judges deciding whether to send transgender prisoners to male or female prisons often use this as a deciding factor.
Currently, transgender women can only legally change their gender on their birth certificate if they have been medically diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and have lived as a woman for two years
Transgender inmates also benefit from greater freedom in terms of dress code and can shower and wash clothes in private.
It comes following a significant spike in the number of transgender inmates, prompting prison authorities to issue new regulations concerning their treatment.
Transgender prisoners first won the right to have gender surgery in 1999.