‘Dangerous’ teen jailed after ‘horrendous’ attack on trans girl in Swansea
Alex Hutton, who also goes by the name Alex Edwards. (Crown Prosecution Service)
A self-proclaimed “racist and fascist” teenager who brutally beat a transgender girl in a hate-crime attack in Swansea has been jailed.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) described 19-year-old Alex Hutton, from Morriston, Swansea, as a “dangerous young man” who “poses a substantial risk to other groups and society as a whole”.
Hutton, also known as Alex Edwards, attacked the transgender girl in Swansea in May 2023, leaving her hospitalised and with the imprint of his trainer on her face.
Appearing at Winchester Crown Court on Thursday (19 September), he was sentenced to a total of five years and four months in custody, plus an extended sentence with a further five years on licence.
He had been subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order which restricted his use of the internet and phone following previous convictions under the Terrorism Act.
Bethan David, the head of the CPS’s Counter Terrorism Division, said Hutton’s “unprovoked attack” was “driven by hate,” and that he posed a “substantial risk” to society.
“He celebrated terrorist acts of white supremacy and encouraged his friends and associates on various social media and messaging platforms to join him in his extreme and disturbing views,” she added.
His posts, which included sharing Nazi extremism, advocating for the “cleansing” of non-white people from London and videos from the Ku Klux Klan, were described as Islamophobic, racist and antisemitic. The CPS said he had shared messages on Instagram and Telegram, where he expressed a desire to kill anyone who wasn’t white.
At an earlier hearing, he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, dissemination of a terrorist publication, breaching a criminal behaviour order and possession of a bladed article on school premises.
Passing sentence, Judge Christopher Parker said Edwards lacked significant empathy towards others, adding: “It’s quite clear that you appear to have blurred the distinction between holding and expressing legitimate political views and enforcing doctrines through acts of extreme violence.
“You are somebody who now poses a significant risk of harm and you are, in the statutory definition, dangerous. You have an entrenched mind-set of hatred towards others.”
Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly had told the court that during the attack, Edwards had kicked his victim, a trans university student, in the head, “then again with force a number of times,” The Guardian reported.
He later boasted on social media about the attack, posting: “Still loving my switch kick,” with a laughing face emoji, referring to mixed martial arts move, in which he had been trained.
Appearing for Edwards, Thomas Schofield said his client had a “neurological impairment” with signs of autistic spectrum disorder, Asperger’s syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
“He is a particularly immature 19 year old,” Schofield added.
Following the court case, detective chief inspector Leanne Williams, from Counter Terrorism Policing Wales, said: “Alex Hutton, motivated by hate, engaged in a horrendous and unprovoked attack on a defenceless young girl who was minding her own business.
“There is no doubt that the attack will have lasting effects on this young person and I hope today’s outcome provides her with some comfort.
“Hutton demonstrated a clear intention to spread his hatred across the internet, encouraging acts of terrorism. Officers uncovered his actions during a detailed investigation, which then led us to the assault that took place earlier in the year.
“I hope he uses the time in custody to reflect on his actions, with a view to leading a far more productive life upon his eventual release.”
