Transgender woman convicted of raping teenage girl sent to men’s prison
A transgender woman who had previously admitted to possessing images of child abuse, has been convicted of raping a teenage girl.
Davina Ayrton had been accused of raping a 15 year old girl in a garage in Portsmouth in 2004, eight years before Ayrton began transitioning and changing her name.
Judge Ian Pearson remanded Ayrton into custody at the male prison in Winchester, Hampshire, where she will await sentencing.
The Portsmouth court heard that the unnamed victim had ran away from home on the night of the attack, and had met Ayrton with two friends whilst drinking alcohol at the garage in Portsmouth.
The court then heard that Ayrton attacked the victim whilst the two friends were sleeping.
It also emerged from the trial that Ayrton had previously been convicted of possessing over 4000 indecent images of children back in 2014, and had subsequently attempted suicide last year.
Prosecutor Chris Stopa also said that Ayrton admitted raping someone in the past to a worker at the care home where she lives in 2014, who subsequently reported the exchange to the police. However, Ayrton denies this took place.
Ayrton will be held in the men’s prison “for her own safety” according to Judge Pearson, and a court officer told the court that protocols had been put in place for Ayrton’s arrival.
The treatment of transgender prisoners has been a subject that has attracted nationwide attention in the last few months.
In October a petition with 150,000 signatures was delivered to the Ministry of Justice in London after it emerged that transgender prisoner Tara Hudson was serving a 12 week sentence for assault in a men’s prison.
Also, there have been two deaths of transgender prisoners which were widely reported late last year.
