Marcus/Britnee Aitken

Marcus/Britnee Aitken, a violent male who identifies as a transgender woman, was convicted in 2022 at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, of three charges of sexual assault against children and one of indecent exposure. Aitken was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

In 2012, Aitken appears to have been treated leniently by the police for possession of an indecent image of a child (a so-called ‘upskirt’ video of a girl aged seven) having been cautioned rather than prosecuted. In 2021, Greater Manchester Police had the country’s highest rate of sexual misconduct allegations against their officers, and remain in special measures after serious failings in responding to and recording crimes.

Aitken, 47, perpetrated the sex offences ten years ago against two very young girls, aged 5 or 6 at the time, after offering to play board games with them at Aitken’s family home, though was not charged until 2020 when the girls came forward.

The Daily Mail also reports that Aitken “poked her [sic] genitals through a letter box when they knocked at the front door.” Like another recent case (see Shay Sims), media coverage has obfuscated the specifics of the offence by referring to “her genitals” rather than “her penis”, two words that are nonsensical when a clear description – and the threat posed by the male sex offenders – is required.

Manchester Evening News reported the long term effects of the abuse described in a victim impact statement: ”I suffer flashbacks due to the abuse and I get angry when I contemplate and think about what this person did to me. What happened has affected my ability to form and maintain relationships with friends and family and the abuse has caused me struggle with anxiety and anger management. I am concerned about these things will impact my life going forward.”

Aitken was referred to as ‘she’ and ‘her’ during the hearing and the defence tried to persuade the judge that the defendant’s “plans for [gender reassignment surgery] were moving ahead for this year” and therefore any prison sentence should be suspended. The judge was not swayed, however, naming Aitken’s offending as “sustained, predatory and very distressing”. The three year sentence will be served in a male prison, indicating that Aitken does not have a gender recognition certificate (GRC).

Other trans offenders who have cited gender issues as mitigation, often to request that custodial sentences be suspended so that hormones or allegedly imminent surgery can be obtained, can be found under this tag.

Image via Manchester Evening News

Media reports

Manchester Evening News https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/father-two-jailed-predatory-paedophile-23566176 archive

Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10675553/Transgender-father-two-47-awaiting-gender-reassignment-surgery-jailed-three-years.html archive