CASE STUDIES: MALES IN WOMEN’S PRISONS
ANONYMOUS MALE PRISONER
In May 2022, the Sunday Mirror reported that a 43-year old male prisoner with fully intact genitalia, had been caught by officers having sex with a young and vulnerable female prisoner, having got her drunk on ‘prison hooch’. The male prisoner was transferred from the general population at HMP Bronzefield, where the incident occurred, to E Wing at HMP Downview. E Wing is a unit in the female estate used to house male prisoners with a gender recognition certificate who are proven to present a level of risk too great to be managed in the general population of the female estate. From this, we can conclude that this 43-year old male who is serving a sentence for murder, has been issued with a gender recognition certificate.
A prison source said, “A lot of women in that prison are troubled and vulnerable. Things like this shouldn’t be happening. This inmate had free rein to move around, mingling with other women, even though [he] had [his] functioning male parts. This is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that male sexual predators are allowed to declare themselves as female and allowed to transfer to female prisons.”
In August 2022, further details emerges in the Mail on Sunday. The male prisoner is alleged to have committed a sexual assault against a second female inmate at HMP Bronzefield and had allegedly been heard saying, “I’m going to f*** you” and “I love p***y – why would I want to be in a man’s prison?”
A whistleblower said that the female inmates were extremely uncomfortable because of this male prisoner’s presence. This prison source went on to say, “Every time there is a transgender male to female with a male organ brought into the prison, the female prisoners are extremely uncomfortable and upset. But the women prisoners don’t feel they can complain because they think nothing will be done.”
ALAN BAKER (aka Alex Stewart)
Alan Baker was convicted of murder in 2013 after he killed a man he had met online by stabbing him in the chest at least 16 times. At the trial it was revealed that he had a history of violence against his male partners. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.
By 2018, Baker had ‘transitioned’, changed his name to Alex Stewart and had been transferred to the female estate at HMP Greenock. Although he had had no ‘reassignment’ surgery, he was reported to be showering with the female inmates. He also won the prison’s coveted Miss Fitness Trophy. A prison source elaborated, “The rest of them shouldn’t have bothered even entering. It was surreal. Everybody knew it wasn’t very fair, but nobody was allowed to say it. The women inmates have had to accept that Stewart is being allowed to live as a woman, despite not having had surgery. This means she is in the showers at the same time as other inmates, which some have found quite awkward.”
As well as winning the trophy, Stewart received a goodie bag containing high value items such as chocolate, tea and coffee, and toiletries. The source explained, “That kind of stuff in jail is real currency. You can exchange it for anything you want.” Stewart is apparently creating Scotland’s first transgender information booklet for prisoners.
In 2018, Stewart began a relationship with fellow prisoner Daniel Eastwood, AKA Sophie. Eastwood had also been convicted of murder, was serving a life sentence and had ‘transitioned’. A prison source stated, with possibly unintentional irony, “Alex has always said that her preference is men. But she did say that would consider going with a woman and it looks like Eastwood has fitted the bill.”
However, the authorities intervened and Eastwood was transferred from HMP Greenock to the women’s section at HMP Polmont after the pair had sex in front of the female inmates. Stewart remained at HMP Greenock.
In 2020 it was reported that Stewart was in a relationship with a female prisoner, Nyomi Fee, who had been convicted of the murder of her then civil partner’s two-year old son.
DANIEL EASTWOOD (aka Sophie Eastwood)
Eastwood was originally sent to prison in 2004 for dangerous driving. Whilst being held at Dumfries Young Offenders Institute in Scotland, he murdered a fellow prisoners and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 15 years. In 2018 he was given an additional 10 months after violently assaulting a male prison officer. Two years prior to this, a female prison officer was forced to resign after he intimidated her using information he had gathered about her and her family.
By 2018, Daniel was identifying as “Sophie” and, despite his history of violent offending, had been transferred to the female estate in Scotland. It was here, at HMP Greenock, that he met and began a sexual relationship with fellow male prisoner, Alan Baker/Alex Stewart. However, the authorities intervened and Eastwood was transferred from HMP Greenock to the women’s section at HMP Polmont after the pair had sex in front of the female inmates. Stewart remained at HMP Greenock.
In 2022 it was reported that Eastwood, who has remained in the female estate, was now identifying as a baby. Eastwood was reported to have been supplied with a dummy and to be demanding nappies, pureed food and to be allowed to hold an officer’s hand whenever escorted from his cell.
At the beginning of August 2023, it was reported in the Daily Record that Eastwood had been transferred to the male estate.
The reasons for his transfer remain unknown. Kate Coleman, Director of KPSS said: “I am, of course, relieved this prisoner, who has a history of violence in prison, has finally been removed to the male estate. The question remains – why Eastwood and why now? Male prisoners currently in the female estate in Scotland have offending profiles and proven risk to women similar to Eastwood. Has an incident occurred which explains Eastwood’s transfer, or does this indicate a change of policy?”
However the Scottish Prison Service denied that the transfer reflected a change of policy.
HARRYETTA THOMPSON
In 2023, it emerged that Harryetta Thompson, a male who identifies as a woman, was being held in the female estate in Scotland.
Thompson’s history of offending is hard to deduce from media reports and it is unclear what the offence that saw him sent to prison in the first place is or when that offence took place. His convictions include those for sexual offences: in 2013 he received a non-custodial sentence after committing a sexual act in the window of his home. In 2016 he was convicted of grooming two boys aged 10 and 12.
The report in 2023 stated that Thompson had been moved into segregation in the female estate at Cornton Vale, having previously been allowed to mix with women in the general population. This transfer was apparently for his own safety, after female inmates overheard him discussing the grooming convictions on the telephone.
John Dixon (AKA Sally Ann Dixon)
In July 2022, Dixon was found guilty of 30 charges relating to child sexual abuse against seven children, two boys and five girls. The youngest of these children was seven years old at the time. Dixon, aged 58, committed these offences between 1989 and 1996.
In court, Dixon was described as a brazen and callous sexual predator who had exploited young males and cultivated a toxic relationship with female children. The court heard that Dixon came to know these vulnerable young children successively through family connections, and used that trusted access to systematically abuse each of them for sexual gratification. In some cases, the abuse took place repeatedly over the course of several months.
In 1997, Dixon had previously been jailed for six months for the sexual abuse of a teenage boy. However, it was only when a victim came forward in 2019 that the extent of his offending came to light. In September 2022, Dixon was given consecutive nine-year custodial sentences with two one- year extended licences. He will serve at least 12 years in custody before becoming eligible for parole.
Dixon does not have a GRC, but was still sent to the female estate at HMP Bronzefield to serve his sentence. It is likely that he was previously held in the female estate on remand, meaning that decision to transfer him to the female estate had already been made at that stage.
Under the revised MoJ policy released on 31st March 2023, this prisoner, due to his conviction for sexual offences, is no longer eligible to be housed with women. Exceptions can only be considered where there is a high level of confidence that the individual poses a low level of risk of harm to others in the female estate. Prisoners assessed as meeting this threshold must be referred to the HMPPS Director Gender and subsequently to the Secretary of State for Justice for a final decision.
Michael Jameson (AKA Lauren Jeska)
In 2017, Jameson, who goes by the name Lauren Jeska, was convicted of attempted murder and other violent offences. His victim sustained life-changing injuries. Jameson was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment and is held in the female estate at HMP Foston Hall.
The offences took place after Jameson, a male fell runner who had been competing in the female category after ‘transitioning’, was instructed to provide blood samples to determine his testosterone levels in line with UK Athletics regulations. Between 2010 and 2012 Jameson had been England’s champion fell runner in the female category three times. He failed to produce the blood samples and consequently these results were declared null and void.
In response, Jameson stabbed a UK Athletics official in the head and neck and injured two others who had tried to intervene.
Sentencing details indicate that his convictions have been recorded in the female crime statistics. In the case of the conviction for attempted murder, this falsely elevated the number of women convicted of that offence in 2017 by 20%. This is far from an isolated incident. Read more about data collection and recording.
In May 2023, the Women’s Rights Network discovered that he retained the Parkrun Women’s 5km record for Aberystwyth. Read more about the inclusion of male athletes in female categories.
Under the revised MoJ policy released on 31st March 2023, this prisoner, due to his convictions for violent offences, is no longer eligible to be housed with women. Exceptions can only be considered where there is a high level of confidence that the individual poses a low level of risk of harm to others in the female estate. Prisoners assessed as meeting this threshold must be referred to the HMPPS Director Gender and subsequently to the Secretary of State for Justice for a final decision.
Peter Laing (AKA Paris Green)
In 2013, Laing, together with two accomplices, sexually assaulted, battered and murdered Robert Shankland. At the time of sentencing, Laing was already identifying as a woman and going by the name Paris Green. He was given a life sentence, with a minimum of 18 years, and was sent to the female estate at Cornton Vale in Scotland.
Within five weeks he was engaging in sexual relations with female prisoners and was transferred to the women’s wing at HMP Edinburgh before finally being moved to the male wing at the same prison.
In 2018, it transpired that he had been moved back to the female wing at HMP Edinburgh and had been approved for “gender reassignment surgery”, which was to be provided south of the border in England. This prompted concern from prison officers. As one said: “This will be a logistical and security nightmare for the prison service…. This is not a life-saving operation. It is not vital to keep Green healthy, If you’re serving life for murder, I think some things should be outside your reach and this is one of them”.
Health officials also appear to have had concerns. In 2021 it emerged that the surgery, which was to be paid for by the NHS but performed at a specialist private clinic, had been blocked due to concerns around the impact on staff and other patients. However in 2023, it was reported that he was continuing to pursue his goal of obtaining surgery.
Richard McCabe (AKA Melissa Young)
McCabe/Young, a male who identifies as a woman, was convicted in 2014 of the 2013 murder of his neighbour, Alan Williamson, in a violent attack where he inflicted 29 separate stab wounds on his victim. McCabe/Young had previously abducted and assaulted his victim earlier in 2013. At his trial, a doctor testified that he had been taking 14 different prescription drugs, inhaled solvents daily, drank to excess and has smoked heroin on the morning of the attack.
Whilst on remand in the female estate at Cornton Vale in Scotland, he was convicted of assault having attacked and bitten a female prison officer in the stomach, drawing blood. For this assault he received an additional six months. Allegations of assault against a second female officer were dropped.
In 2023, it emerged that he remains in the female prison estate in Scotland.