A transgender woman who sexually assaulted female inmates has been transferred to a prison which houses some of the UK’s most dangerous prisoners.

52-year-old Karen White identifies as a woman and is currently transitioning.

However, she is still legally considered male and has been transferred to HMP Wakefield, which is nicknamed Monster Mansion due to its high number of dangerous inmates.

White was imprisoned for sexually assaulting two female inmates while on remand in a female prison.

She also admitted to raping two women and attacking a person with a knife while outside of prison.

‘A predator and highly manipulative’

White has a history of violence and sexual assault.

During her trial, the court heard that she started identifying as a woman around the time she was remanded into custody and began wearing a wig and makeup.

White then sexually assaulted two women while at a women’s prison, HMP New Hall, in October last year.

During her trial, the prosecution claimed that White does not have gender dysphoria, but is using a transgender persona ‘to put herself in contact with vulnerable persons’.

During her sentencing, Judge Christopher Batty said: ‘You are a predator and highly manipulative and in my view, you are a danger. You represent a significant risk of serious harm to children, to women and to the general public.’

White had previous convictions for indecent assault, indecent exposure and gross indecency involving children, animal cruelty and dishonesty.

During her trial, White was held in another male prison, HMP Leeds.

Ongoing debate

White’s case fueled a debate over the rights and correct treatment of transgender inmates and rules surrounding single-sex spaces.

Writing for Gay Star News last month, Helen Belcher of Trans Media Watch discussed both these issues.

‘The facts: single sex spaces are protected by all sorts of laws, including but not restricted to the Equality Act, public order acts and acts around gross indecency,’ Belcher wrote. ‘None of these will change. No one is advocating for single-sex spaces to be eliminated.

‘Single sex spaces, like women’s refuges, undertake risk assessments to determine who is safe to enter. They have to do this, otherwise they could unwittingly unleash an abusive or violent lesbian on their female partner who is seeking refuge.

‘That won’t change either. Prisons also work on a risk assessment basis. That’s what the revised policy, issued in 2016, sets out. If the prisoner is deemed to either be a risk or be at risk, then any GRC they may have can be ignored.’

Following White’s conviction, the Ministry of Justice apologized for housing White in a female prison, and said White’s history of offenses had not been taken into account.

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