• 7 years ago
• Posted in:Assault/Wounding, Murder/ Manslaughter, Possession of weapons, Stalking/harrassment/threats, Violent Offences
• 0
• Author: Trans Crime
• Tags: 10+ years imprisonment, 5+ years imprisonment, Aged <20, Aiden Riley, Alcohol, Charges downgraded, Convicted 2008, Drug misuse, HMP Castle Huntly, HMP Cornton Vale, HMP Perth, Male prison, Male victim, Offended 2007, OLR, Perthshire, Pre-transition, Prison death, Prison relationship, Prison transition, Reduced charge, Repeat offender, Sandyford, Sarah Riley, Scotland, Suicide, Trans woman

Aiden/Sarah Riley, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was jailed for two years and eight months for stabbing another male teenager in 2008. Riley was made subject to an Order of Lifelong Restriction (OLR) which means a prisoner is only released from prison when authorities judge it is safe to do so and there they will be supervised for life.

Riley, 18, was on probation for another violent assault when he stabbed Derek Graham, also 18, in Aberfeldy, Perthshire. The knife went through Mr Graham’s chest wall, penetrating his left lung and leaving him “lucky to escape with his life”.

Riley was originally charged with attempted murder but Perth Sheriff Court accepted Riley’s guilty plea to a reduced charge of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of the victim’s life.

At the High Court in Edinburgh in May 2008, Lord Uist criticised the prosecutors in the case, saying: “I’m appalled the Crown think this is a suitable case for the sheriff court.” The case was referred to Crown Court for sentencing as Sheriff Robert McCreadie QC decided that his powers of punishment were not robust enough to deal with Riley.

In 2017 Riley was reportedly carrying on a sexual relationship with child murderer Henry Williamson at HMP Castle Huntly, a men’s open prison near Dundee that prepares offenders for release. Williamson murdered nine year old schoolboy Neil Wyse, and was jailed for life in 1993.

*Update December 2023*

The Daily Record reported that Riley had died by suicide in HMP Perth in January 2019. The fatal accident inquiry at Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that Riley’s application for transfer to HMP Edinburgh’s all-female Ratho House wing had been refused. The inquiry also heard that Riley had been recalled to prison in 2018 after a licence breach – described as “an issue related to alcohol, drugs, and threatening a male” – after only three months living in supported accommodation in Perth city. Riley had apparently been treated at the Sandyford Gender Clinic in Glasgow and had had laser hair-removal treatment at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. Though on suicide prevention supervision on previous occasions in Scottish prisons, the inquiry heard that Riley felt “safe and comfortable in HMP Perth as it was familiar and the staff knew her [sic]”. Riley had also turned down a potential transfer to HMP Cornton Vale because of a “bad experience” there previously.

Photo credit: Scottish Sun

Media reports

Daily Record https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-transgender-prisoner-found-dead-31709650  archive

Scottish Sun https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1880820/scots-child-killer-enjoys-secret-romps-with-trans-knife-yob-behind-guards-backs/ archive

BBC: Teenager jailed for knife attack http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7771471.stm  archive

BBC: Judge slams knife court decision http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7396314.stm