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A 20-year-old man who attacked a transgender woman in Lime Street on the day she was ‘out’ for the first time was locked up for 20 months.

Ryan Kenny followed his victim on her way home from a support group meeting in Liverpool city centre last March.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the 20-year-old and a friend approached the woman in Skelhorne Street, near Lime Street station, and Kenny shouted “hey girl”.

But when his companion shouted “that’s a man”, drunken Kenny ran over and asked her if she was, to which she replied “no”.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said: “The next thing she knew her wig was being pulled off her head from behind. He hit her across the face with it.

“The defendant was described as swiping her about 10 to 20 times with her wig.

“He stood in front of her with his right fist clenched. She put her right arm out to protect herself and he said ‘do you want a dig?’

“She did not respond and he punched her on the left cheek, resulting in her stumbling backwards, before he punched her a second time.”

The court heard Kenny then stole her carrier bag which she had dropped, containing £30 to £40 of makeup.

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, reported the incident to the police and Kenny was later arrested. During police interview he made no comment, except to say his friend had wound him up and to call him “a grass”.

Kenny, from Bridge Street, Birkenhead, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft.

He has 31 previous convictions for 42 offences dating back to 2007.

John Bellam, defending, said his client was “extremely sorry” for what had happened and had been “considerably inebriated” when he carried out the attack “fuelled by alcohol”.

He said: “He has expressed remorse, regret and shame.

“He was out with his friend, they were looking for companionship from young ladies, and he shouted towards the young lady and wolf-whistled.

“It would appear he was teased by his friend who said this was a man and that appears to be a trigger factor, which has caused Mr Kenny to be embarrassed.

“He said it made him look like a fool and rather than taking it out on his friend, who caused that situation you could say, he approached this young lady.”

Mr Bellam added that Kenny said he thought the woman was going to hit him before he punched her.

But Judge Brian Lewis said the defendant had initiated the incident, adding: “In the circumstances she would have been perfectly entitled to.”

Sentencing Kenny to 16 months in a young offenders institution for the assault and four months for the theft, to be served consecutively, the judge said: “This was a quite disgraceful attack on a vulnerable victim.

“She was targeted because she was transgender and the attack was completely unprovoked.

“It was humiliating, degrading and persistent.

“It was no excuse that somebody else said something that may have provoked you in some way.

“This was completely unjustified.”

The victim suffered bruising to the left side of her face and cuts to the lip and told officers the attack took place for “no reason other than she was transgender”.