• 7 years ago
• Posted in:Assault/Wounding, Murder/ Manslaughter, Possession of weapons, Violent Offences
• 0
• Author: melodie
• Tags: 10+ years imprisonment, 15+ years imprisonment, Aged 40-49, Birmingham, Convicted 2016, Crime recorded as female, Distortion of female crime stats, England, Female prison, Gender issues cited as mitigation, HMP Foston Hall, Lauren Jeska, Life sentence, Male victim, Media obscuring trans status, Mental health, Multiple victims, Narcissistic rage, Offended 2016, PoC victim, Post-transition, Powys, Reported as woman, Trans woman, Wales

Michael Jameson / Lauren Jeska, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted murder in March 2017 after pleading guilty at Birmingham Crown Court in 2016.

Jeska, 42, admitted stabbing Ralph Knibbs in the head and neck at Alexander Stadium in March 2016, and also causing actual bodily harm to two other UK Athletics officials, Kevan Taylor and Tim Begley, who tried to intervene during the attack.

Judge Simon Drew said the attack had been planned and executed with “chilling precision”, meaning Jeska posed a “serious risk in the future”. Mr Knibbs suffered a stroke during the attack and now has limited vision in both eyes, rendering him disabled, and has difficulty eating due to severed nerves.

Competing in the female category, Jeska was England’s champion fell-runner three times between 2010 and 2012. After failing to produce samples to determine testosterone levels, Jeska’s eligibility to compete in female competitions was questioned by UK Athletics and these racing results were subsequently declared null and void.

When initially appearing in court to plead guilty in September 2016, the BBC, The Guardian and Sky News made no mention in their reporting that Jeska was a male who identified as a trans woman, despite the CPS and West Midlands Police both confirming that it was a factor in the motive for attacking Ralph Knibbs.

Detective Sergeant Sally Olsen said of the case: “We understand Jeska had been asked to provide further evidence of hormone levels after historical complaints to UK Athletics that she had an unfair advantage competing in women’s events because she had been born a man. The governing body’s policy required the athlete to take a blood test but she took exception to this and feared being unable to compete.”

Jeska is to serve the 18 year sentence in HMP Foston Hall, a women’s closed category prison. Sentencing details from the Crown Court indicate that this violent crime will be recorded in female crime statistics rather than male, as Jeska is listed as female. In 2016, Ministry of Justice statistics reveal there were only 6 women convicted of attempted murder in England and Wales (presumably including Jeska), meaning that Jeska’s inclusion has effectively distorted and increased the female crime statistics in this category by 20%. Likewise, Claire Darbyshire‘s 2016 conviction for murder will also be counted in female statistics.

Screenshot from lawpages.com

See also this archived post on Lauren Jeska on the since censored and removed blog Gender Trender

Photo via West Midlands Police

Media reports

BBC http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-39266777

The Mirror http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/transgender-fell-runner-lauren-jeska-10025160

The Daily Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/14/champion-runner-wanted-compete-woman-jailed-attempted-murder/

The Daily Mail http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4312594/Fell-runner-jailed-trying-murder-athletics-official.html#ixzz4cUEqsmRq

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauren_Jeska