Gina Owen, a British man who twice solicited or engaged children in sexual activity, was handed two years probation Tuesday because he now identifies as a woman.

The crimes took place in 2004 and Owen has since undergone a sex change surgery. Despite confessing to forcing a young boy into tying him up, hitting what used to be his male genitals and urinating in his mouth, Owen, 61, managed to avoid prison.

While acknowledging the offenses were “very serious,” Judge David Ticehurst argued the available punishments were inappropriate for a woman. A prison sentence would put Owen “in the path of abuse,” and any treatment options are only available for men.

“The victim who was exposed to your behavior would have suffered some trauma,” Judge David Ticehurst told Owen when he delivered the verdict, acoording to The Daily Mirror. “The problem is that I am afraid that a community order could put you in the path of abuse, and all of the courses run for sexual offenders are only available to men. I do not feel that either of those routes would be suitable for your particular circumstances.”

Owen was relieved by the sentence, but refused to address reporters outside the court.

“I am free, that is all there is to it,” Owen told reporters. “I am not going to say anymore as me and my family have been through enough.”

Owen’s attorney Patrick Mason, said his client was in difficult and sad place when the crimes occurred.

“She was literally a different person when she committed these offenses,” Mason told The Daily Star.

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