A transgender woman who deceived a man about being biologically female before performing sex acts on him has been jailed for 21 months.
Durham Crown Court heard that 21-year-old Ciara Watkin, from Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, misled her victim into believing she was female.
The man said he would never have consented to sexual activity had he known Watkin was biologically male.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC said he was “certain” the victim “fully believed from start to finish” that Watkin was female due to her “lies and deception.”
The court was told Watkin met the man on Snapchat at 18, using a female cartoon profile and later claiming she was on her period to stop him touching her below the waist.
When she later revealed her biological sex, the man reported her to police, saying he felt “ashamed and embarrassed” and had been “ridiculed online.”
Prosecutor Paul Reid said the case centered on informed consent. The victim said he felt “physically sick” when Watkin disclosed her “massive secret,” adding he had part of his masculinity “taken away.”
In mitigation, Victoria Lamballe said Watkin’s actions were driven by “shame and a deep sense of discomfort” rather than malice, adding she had been “bullied and ridiculed on a daily basis” for her identity.
But Recorder Makepeace said Watkin was “flippant,” showed “not a shred of remorse,” and had “totally deceived” the victim. “You knew he would not have consented to sexual activity had he known you were a birth male,” he said.
The judge added that while Watkin’s gender dysphoria was a factor, her actions were rooted in “wanting sexual experiences with heterosexual males” which she had to “deceive to achieve.”
Watkin will serve her sentence in a men’s prison, must register as a sex offender for 10 years, and is under a lifetime restraining order from contacting the victim.
Detective Constable Martin Scotson said Watkin “purposely concealed her sex” and hoped the sentence would allow the victim to “move forward with his life.”
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