A BEARDED paedophile has started a secret new life as a woman after transitioning while serving time in a Scottish jail.

Christopher Noble, 32, transitioned to Christyl Knight while behind bars for keeping a stash of over 4,000 vile pictures and videos of kids as young as six months old.

The con transitioned into Christyl Knight while in jail

The con is desperate for a fresh start but child protection expert Claude Knights said: “Allowing these individuals to hide a secret past is a dangerous practice.”

And an outraged mum whose son was murdered by a paedo has demanded a legal change over perv Christyl Knight’s new life as a female.

Campaigner Margaret-Ann Cummings, 43, insisted sex offenders should be forced to keep the identities they are jailed for.

Her son Mark, eight, was was killed by convicted sex offender Stuart Leggate, 42, in 2004.

She said: “Authorities shouldn’t let paedophiles rewrite history. They should have to keep their identities intact while they’re still on the register.

Christopher Noble before he transitioned while behind bars for downloading vile snaps

"Where does this end? Will sex offenders soon be getting treatment on the NHS to change the way they look?”

She added: “It’s not unusual for sex offenders to want a new identity but this is the most disturbing case I’ve heard of.

"When someone, so soon after getting out of jail, is trying to change not just their name but their sex and appearance too, it sounds like they’re trying to hide rather than reform.”

Echoing her calls, child protection expert Claude Knights said: “Anyone who’s fuelled the vile trade in indecent images of children and therefore contributed to their sexual abuse should not be allowed to change their name.”

Christyl Knight following transition while serving time

The Scottish Sun traced Knight to a flat in Aberdeen where she moaned her life had been a misery in tough Grampian nick, Peterhead.

And she insisted her transition is not a ploy to hide her vile past. She said: “I can’t help being transgender. I’ve realised since I was about 13.

"To start the process in jail was . . . you wouldn’t believe the s*** I had to put up with.

“I was in a male hall behind my door 24/7 for four months.

“Do you honestly think someone would want to change sex just to hide a conviction? It’s a long, hard process.”

It’s understood she appears on the sex offender list as Christyl.

Outraged mum Margaret-Ann

She lives alone and claims she doesn’t talk to anyone under strict rules of her early release.

And she revealed the licence — which forces her to sign in at a cop shop — ends this week.

She was nicked in the city’s Torry in July 2015 after a tip-off from the National Online Child Abuse Agency.

Convicted sex offender Stuart Leggate

Cops found 4,224 indecent photos and 11 explicit videos of kids under 13 on a laptop, mobile and USB in the home.

A computer showed a live web chat discussing the sharing of children.

The then-bearded pervert admitted downloading and distributing 2,000 vile pics and was caged for 21 months in 2016.

Christyl, who was recently made bankrupt over nearly £19,000 of debt, added: “I’ve lost everything. I regret it. I’m moving on with my life.”

Eight-year-old Mark was killed in 2004

James Morton, of the Scottish Transgender Alliance, said: “Our understanding is that transitioning does not erase your past if you’re a sex offender.

"You have to give your new name to police. Trans people usually encounter greater suspicion. I don’t think it helps people blend in.”

The Scottish Prison Service does not comment on individual prisoners but said cons are dealt with according to their gender when they’re jailed.

stuart.patterson@the-sun.co.uk

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