Dawn Love
Dawn Love, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was convicted of sexual assault of a child in 2017. Despite traumatising a young female victim and committing the offence while serving a suspended sentence for possession of extreme bestiality pornography Love escaped a jail sentence. A five-year restraining order was put in place, prohibiting Love from contacting the victim, and the defendant was also ordered to pay £1,500 in costs plus a £60 victim surcharge.
A judge told Love that the crime justified a prison sentence, but only imposed a two-year community order as Love’s defence team said the defendant was thinking of moving to Dorset and the judge stated it “might be in her best interests.”
Love’s defence barrister told the court that Love was reported to pose a high risk of suicide and the judge cited the ‘bullying and depression the defendant was facing’ since being prosecuted for sexual offences against a child. As part of the community order Love, 57, from Lightwater, Surrey, was ordered to undergo two years of supervision with the probation service.
The court heard how the 15-year-old female victim “could not sleep after the first attack” and broke down in tears when she got home. She testified that “I was so scared, I just didn’t know what to do. I tried to get as far as I could away from her but I knew the door was locked. I just felt I was trapped. She’s quite powerful because she used to be a man, she’s still got all that.”
Mail Online screenshot
In March 2015, Dawn Love was found guilty of possessing extreme pornography after repair shop staff found images of people having sex with horses on Love’s phone in July 2013 and reported it to police. During a search of Love’s home and a camper van, officers also found a DVD showing women having sex with dogs. The case was reported as “Middle-aged housewife and dogging enthusiast was caught with extreme animal porn on her phone”.
Despite having a long list of previous convictions and suspended sentences for verbal abuse, driving offences and possession of a knife, and the offence crossing the custody threshold, Love was also spared spared jail at the first trial after Judge Christopher Critchlow was told of a heightened risk of suicide for transsexuals in custody. Love’s barrister said his client had “suffered from suicidal thoughts much of her life, much of which stemmed from issues around her gender.” Love was sentenced to a nine month jail term, suspended for two years, with a 12-month supervision order.
Photo credit: INS via Daily Mirror
Media reports:
Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4484758/Transgender-woman-groped-girl-15-spared-jail.html
Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4332436/Transgender-woman-groped-15-year-old-girl.html
The Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/transgender-woman-spared-jail-brutal-5539927