A 21-year-old transgender woman, Ciara Watkin, has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for concealing her male genitalia from a man she was intimate with in Thornaby, Yorkshire several years ago. Watkin engaged in sexual acts with the man but did not allow him to touch her. She later revealed her transgender identity to him via text, causing the man to report her to the authorities.
Watkin was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. The man expressed feeling deceived and emasculated upon discovering Watkin’s biological sex after connecting with her on Snapchat. He mentioned feeling misled as Watkin had represented herself as a woman throughout their interaction.
Sarah Nelson, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS North East, emphasized that Watkin failed to disclose her transgender status to the victim, depriving him of the opportunity to provide informed consent. Watkin admitted to deceiving the man about her gender to engage in a sexual relationship with him.
Defending Watkin, Victoria Lamballe revealed that the accused had not undergone gender reassignment surgery and had used padding in her bra to appear female. Watkin disclosed her transgender status to the man over the phone after their initial meeting. Detectives highlighted the importance of informed consent in sexual relationships and urged victims of sexual offenses to seek support and report incidents to the authorities.
Detective Constable Martin Scotson emphasized that Watkin had purposely concealed her biological sex to engage in sexual activity with the victim. He encouraged victims of sexual offenses to come forward and seek assistance. Victims of rape or sexual abuse were advised to contact Teesside Sexual Assault Referral Centre for support, even if the incident had not been reported to the police.
