A TRANSGENDER woman has been convicted of sexual assault after concealing she had male genitalia from a man she was on a date with.
Ciara Watkin, 21, spent the night with her victim after they had exchanged messages on Snapchat.
She has been convicted of sexual assault[/caption]
She performed sex acts on the man but refused to let him touch her, claiming she was on her period.
The victim only discovered the truth when Watkin later told him she had a “massive secret”.
She has now been found guilty of two charges of sexual assault and one charge of assault by penetration.
Teesside Crown Court heard Watkin had no gender reassignment surgery and stuffed clothing inside her bra.
Her Snapchat profile used a female cartoon avatar and there had been no discussion about sexuality or gender.
In a police interview played in court, the victim said: “All the way throughout she made out she was fully a girl.”
He told officers how the pair had been sat for a while drinking and chatting before heading to the bedroom.
The man added: “Throughout the full time, she was telling me she was on her period.
“It was like as far as I was concerned she was a female.”
Watkin later messaged him to admit she had a “massive secret” to which he replied to ask if she was pregnant.
Instead, she revealed: “I’m trans. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”
The man messaged: “WTF. So you have a d***?”.
He added: “OMFG. I feel ill,” before reporting her to the police.
Asked how he felt about discovering the truth, the victim told officers he felt like “it’s taken away my manhood”.
He also said he was “shocked” and claimed he would not have got with her if he knew Watkin had a penis as he “didn’t swing that way”.
The man continued: “I see it as something that upsets me. I’m just trying to hide my emotions. At first I did just have an emotional breakdown.”
Watkin will be sentenced on October 10.
Sarah Nelson, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS North East, said: “It is clear from the evidence in this case that, prior to engaging in sexual activity with the victim, Watkin had made no attempt to inform him of her transgender status.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has shown that, by failing to disclose this to him, it would not have been possible for him to give informed consent to sexual activity.
“The victim has made clear in police interview that he would not have engaged in sexual activity had he known that Watkin was transgender and, consequently, these events have had a significant impact on his mental wellbeing.
“We hope that he can take some comfort from seeing Watkin convicted for these serious sexual offences today.”