On Jan. 23, a transgender lady was convicted guilty of raping two women prior to her transition, said reports.
31-year-old Isla Bryson, of Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire, allegedly "preyed" on weak women by meeting her victims online while using the fictitious identity Adam Graham.
Who is Isla Bryson?
The High Court in Glasgow on Tuesday found 31-year-old Bryson guilty of two charges of rape.
While posing as Adam Graham, she perpetrated the offenses in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019, respectively.
After a six-day trial, the High Court in Glasgow convicted Bryson guilty of raping two women, one in Clydebank in 2016 and the other in Drumchapel in 2019.
Bryson asserted that she "would never hurt another human being" and refuted both accusations.
She said that as part of her gender reassignment process, she is now taking hormones and considering surgery.
When the first rape allegedly occurred in 2016, Bryson admitted that she was struggling with her sexuality and having troubles emotionally.
Edward Targowski KC, defending Bryson, said the three main witnesses in the case were "vulnerable", adding, "that includes Isla Bryson."
Mr. Targowski said Bryson met her two victims separately via the internet and said they "are not the sort of people who go to pubs to socialize".
"All witnesses used social media to find companionship, they use social media to make connections," he told the jury.
In addition to her recent transition, the defense pointed out that Bryson's marriage had begun to fall apart in 2016, right around the time she allegedly encountered her first victim.
"If you look at the circumstances, you do not have a predatory male - you have somebody who is vulnerable," Mr. Targowski said. "Her (Bryson's) evidence is a complete denial of rape, asserts that all sex was consenting."
However, on Monday, Jan. 23, in his closing remarks, advocate deputy John Keenan stated that there was "clear evidence" that the victims of Bryson had not given their permission during their interactions with the defendant.
The 30-year-old alleged victim said in a pre-recorded video that she was sexually assaulted in bed with Bryson at her mother's house in 2016 for roughly 30 minutes.
Referencing the second alleged victim, Mr. Keenan told the 15-person jury, "there is clear evidence from the complainer there was no consent."
"She told the accused to stop, that she couldn't breathe, that she didn't want to. The accused did not stop," he added.
Bryson had been out on bail but was later remanded in custody by judge Lord Scott.
Lord Scott postponed Bryson's sentence until Feb. 28 in Stirling.
Rising Number of Transgender Prisoners in Scotland
At the most recent count on March 31, 2022, there were 230 transgender inmates in England and Wales. Six of the 49 transgender inmates in female prisons and 162 of the 181 transgender inmates in male jails were trans women.
Katie Dolatowski, a 22-year-old trans woman who was detained in Cornton Vale last year after violating a restriction of liberty order, is another prominent transgender prisoner in Scotland.
She attacked a 10-year-old girl in a Kirkcaldy supermarket restroom in 2018 and recorded a 12-year-old girl using the restroom at a different supermarket.
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