A CROSS-DRESSING P-plater who killed his girlfriend in a car crash has been spared jail after a judge ruled he would be bullied in prison.

Jayke Baldwin, 21, who has a gender-identity disorder and has cross-dressed since he was 15, was speeding when he lost control of his car on a dirt road and hit a tree at Seville East, 46 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, in February 2009.

His girlfriend of two weeks, 18-year-old Melissa Neylon, was thrown from the car and died when the vehicle fell on her.

Yesterday, Victorian County Court judge Marilyn Harbison said prison would be tough on Baldwin because of gender-identity issues, his effeminate appearance and his Asperger's syndrome.

Baldwin would face bullying and possibly ''much worse'' if he were jailed, Judge Harbison said.