• 4 years ago
• Posted in:Child Sexual Abuse, Possession of CSA images, Rape / Sexual Assault, Sexual Offences, SOPO/SHPO breaches
• 0
• Author: Trans Crime
• Tags: 'One surgery away', Aged <20, Aged 20-29, Alex Smith, Asperger's/autism, Child victim, Convicted 2005, Convicted 2011, Convicted 2015, Convicted 2019, Convicted 2021, England, Gamer, Gender issues cited as mitigation, Get Out Of Jail Free card, Lenient judge, Lenient sentence, Male victim, Manga/Hentai, Matthew Burren, Met victim online, Multiple victims, No jail, Offended 2005, Offending coincided with transitioning, Pornography, Reoffended while on licence/bail, Repeat offender, Suicidal thoughts, Suspended sentence, Trans woman, Wiltshire, Wiltshire Police

Matthew Burren/Alex Smith, a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was convicted at Swindon Magistrates Court in March 2021 of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Burren/Smith, 28, was initially convicted 16 years previously (ie at age 12) of the rape of a five year old boy.

The judge cited the fact that Burren/Smith was “currently undergoing gender reassignment” as a reason to suspend the imposed 26-week prison sentence for two years, reportedly saying “You are very very, very vulnerable. That’s the only reason I am not sending you to prison. If you were not vulnerable, I would probably send you to prison.”

A new indefinite SHPO preventing Burren/Smith from approaching children under the age of 16 or allowing a child to enter or stay at their home address, among other conditions, was also put in place.

This was the fifth time Burren/Smith, 28, has been convicted of breaching an SHPO, part of a disturbing and repeated pattern of concealing and lying about possessing electronic devices used to download indecent images of children and contacting children online. Police had visited Burren/Smith’s home unannounced in March 2021 and discovered an undeclared device connected to the router. On discovery, Burren/Smith, picked up a pair of scissors, walked towards the police officer and said “I’m going to kill myself”.

Burren/Smith’s SHPO had been imposed in 2011 after indecent images of children, including sexualised Japanese drawings of children, were found on various electronic devices concealed from the police. The offending occurred while Burren/Smith was under extended licence after release from the custodial sentence for rape. Burren/Smith, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, avoided recall back into custody, instead receiving a two-year community order with supervision and ordered to live at a hostel with 24-hour monitoring and support, and to attend a special school.

In 2015, Burren/Smith was again convicted of possessing prohibited images of children and twice breaching a sexual offence prevention order after having contacted children online.

In 2019 magistrates sentenced Burren/Smith to a two year community order with 30 rehabilitation days after admitting deleting internet browser history and having a number of pornographic websites bookmarked on a PlayStation 4.

At each court appearance Burren/Smith avoided jail after (allegedly) being keen to engage and change, although there appears to be absolutely no evidence that any of the interventions actually prevented further offending.

Media reports

Wiltshire999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/transitioning-child-rapist-who-breached-order-spared-jail-over-prison-safety-concerns/ archive

Wiltshire999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/child-rapist-threatened-to-kill-herself-when-undeclared-device-found-during-visit/ archive

Swindon Advertiser https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/12913036.child-rapist-caught-again-with-prohibited-images-of-children-spared-jail/ archive

Swindon Advertiser https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/19130369.swindon-sex-offender-admits-breaching-court-order/ archive