A British court has handed a 21-month prison sentence to a transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, for deceiving a man into sexual activity by pretending to be a biological female.
According to a BBC report on Friday, the victim told Durham Crown Court that he would not have consented to the encounter if he had known Watkin was biologically male.
The court heard that Watkin, 21, from Thornaby in Stockton-on-Tees, was convicted of sexual assault after the jury dismissed her argument that the man “would have realised” her gender identity. Recorder Peter Makepeace KC stated that he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was a woman because of her “lies and deception.”
Watkin, who was born male and had used the name Ciara since childhood, had not undergone any medical transition or surgery. Both she and the victim were 18 when they met on Snapchat, where she used a female cartoon as her profile image. They later met in person, leading to sexual contact. Prosecutor Paul Reid revealed that Watkin even claimed to be menstruating to stop the man from touching her below the waist.
When Watkin later admitted she was biologically male, the man said he was “physically sick” and immediately reported the incident to police. “He said he was shocked and upset about being deceived, adding that he felt ashamed, embarrassed, and had been ridiculed online due to Watkin’s actions and deception,” the report stated. The victim, who described himself as heterosexual, told the court he felt “part of his masculinity was taken away.”
Defence lawyer Victoria Lamballe argued that Watkin’s actions were not “predatory or sadistic” but were driven by “shame and a deep sense of discomfort” with her body. She added that Watkin, diagnosed with gender dysphoria, had identified as female since primary school and had faced years of bullying. “It is hardly surprising that Watkin built up a façade and presented almost as a caricature of herself to mask the inner turmoil she feels at having been born into the wrong body,” Lamballe said, noting that Watkin “simply wanted to be loved.”
However, Recorder Makepeace ruled that the victim had been “totally deceived,” saying Watkin knowingly lied to achieve sexual contact. The judge also rebuked Watkin’s demeanor during the trial, describing her as “flippant, disinterested, and bored,” with “not a shred of remorse.”
He added, “At the heart of this case was your frustration at wanting sexual experiences with heterosexual males, which, by definition, you needed to deceive to achieve.”
Watkin will serve her sentence in a male prison, where authorities will take protective measures for her safety. She will remain on the sex offenders register for ten years and has been given a lifetime restraining order barring contact with the victim.
Detective Constable Martin Scotson of Cleveland Police said Watkin “purposely concealed her sex in order for the sexual activity to take place,” adding that he hoped the conviction would allow the victim to “move forward with his life.”
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