Trans woman found guilty of raping two women before her transition

A trans woman has been found guilty of raping two women before she transitioned. 

During a six day trial at the high court in Glasgow, the jury heard that Isla Bryson – from Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire – raped two women. 

Bryson, however, denied the charges and said she would “would never hurt another human being”.

One victim was raped in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019.

The prosecution told the court Bryson met her victims online and “preyed” on vulnerable women. 

Following less than a day of deliberation, a jury found her guilty of both rape charges.

As The Guardian reports, the judge, Mr Justice Scott, addressed Bryson in the dock on Tuesday and said: “You have been convicted by the jury of two extremely serious charges; those being charges of rape.” 

He added the crimes were “considerable” and “a significant sentence is inevitable”.

The court revoked Bryson’s bail and she has been remanded in custody until February 28

This is to allow the judge to gather “as much information as possible” before delivering a sentence. 

During the trial, the court heard that Bryson was going through the breakdown of an unhappy but short marriage and went to stay with her first victim, at the victim’s mother’s house, in Clydebank in 2016.

The court hard evidence that, on the night of the rape, Bryson locked the victim’s bedroom door. 

This was described as “unusual.”

The victim, 30, who gave evidence to the court on a pre-recorded video, said she was raped for 30 minutes. 

“All I said was ‘no’ over and over and over again.”

“At the time I was so scared. Sick to the stomach. I just didn’t know what was going on,” she said, adding that Bryson later threatened her family with harm if she told anyone.

The second victim, 34, said Bryson continued to have sex with her after she said stop. 

Giving her evidence on a live video link, she said they met on social media app Bigo – where Bryson was named DJ Blade.

After chatting, the pair met in person and one day after meeting, in June 2019, they were at her home in Drumchapel watching television. 

The victim told the court that Bryson performed a sex act on her after removing her pyjama bottoms, which she consented to, but then she asked Bryson to stop. 

“I said to stop but he [Bryson] just kept on going, and that’s when I just closed my eyes and I am doing what he wanted to do,” she told the court.

Giving her own evidence, Bryson claimed they both consented to having sex.

The Guardian reported that Bryson said she knew she was transgender at the age of four but did not make the decision to transition until she was 29. 

Bryson is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete her transition. 

She said in 2016 she was “struggling with my sexuality and having issues emotionally”.

The jury unanimously found Bryson guilty of raping the second victim, with a majority agreeing she raped the first woman.

Bryson has three minor convictions on her record, but none of these required a prison sentence, the court also heard.