Annabelle Ford

Silhouette image via Wikimedia Commons

Annabelle Ford, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Matthew Thompson and producing cannabis. Ford, 41 was sentenced to 8 months in prison at Grimsby Crown Court in April 2017.

 During a row about cannabis plants, Ford threatened Mr Thompson in front of a child and then hit him with a scaffolding pole several times, causing a broken elbow, a broken lower arm and three open wounds on his shin.

Defence counsel submitted in mitigation that Ford was “going through a seismic transition in her life” and had started the “process of formally reassigning her gender”.

Judge Mark Bury said that Ford was “understandably extremely apprehensive” about being sent to a men’s prison but would actually go to New Hall women’s prison, near Wakefield, but effectively in solitary confinement. He also indicated that Ford’s behaviour towards Mr Thompson was “inexcusable” despite his use of “less than complimentary terms” towards Ford.