Isla Bryson, A Transgender, Convicted By Scottish Court For Raping 2 Women Before Sex-Change

A Scottish transgender woman named Isla Bryson has been found guilty of committing two rapes while she was a man prior to her gender transition, according to the BBC. She committed the crimes in Clydebank and Glasgow in 2016 and 2019 while known as Adam Graham.

The news outlet further said that Bryson was charged with two counts of rape after a six-day trial at Glasgow's high court. Prosecutors claim that she met her victims online and "preyed" on vulnerable women. Bryson argued in court that she "would never hurt another human being" and denied the charges.

The news outlet further reported that the high court judge, Lord Scott, said she had been convicted of two extremely serious charges and that a significant custodial sentence was inevitable. 

According to BBC Scotland, Bryson will not be housed with the prison's normal inmates when she is transported to Cornton Vale Women's Prison in Stirling.

The Guardian reported that Bryson's bail was revoked and she has been remanded in custody until 28 February to allow the judge to gather "as much information as possible" on her before deciding her sentence. The court heard Bryson was going through the breakdown of an unhappy, brief marriage when she went to stay with her first victim at the victim's mother's house in Clydebank in 2016.

Evidence was given that, on the night of the rape, Bryson locked the victim's bedroom door, which was "unusual."

Individual risk assessments are carried out under Scottish Prison Service policy to determine where transgender inmates will be sent, according to The Telegraph.

The news outlet further mentioned that the move to house a male-bodied rapist in a female jail sparked an immediate backlash from women's rights campaigners, who branded it "mad." The verdict was delivered just weeks after Holyrood passed legislation that would have made it significantly easier for Scots to change their legal sex, only for it to be blocked by UK ministers—in part due to fears it would place women in danger.