• 3 years ago
• Posted in:Possession of weapons, Public Decency Offences, Racially aggravated offences, Sexual Offences, Stalking/harrassment/threats, Violent Offences
• 0
• Author: Trans Crime
• Tags: Aged 40-49, Alcohol, Berkshire, Blamed alcohol, British Transport Police, Canal/river path, Convicted 2014, Convicted 2015, Convicted 2022, Criminal Behaviour Order, England, Gender issues cited as mitigation, Hate crime, HMP Pentonville, Islamophobia, London, Male victim, Mental health, Metropolitan Police, Multiple victims, No GRC, Offended 2015, Public transport, Racism, Reported as woman, Trans woman, Trisha Clifton, Victim sex unknown

Trisha Clifton, a violent male who identifies as a transgender woman, was convicted at Reading Magistrates Court of religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour and being in breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order. Clifton, 49, was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison on 4 April 2022. The convictions were added to a long list of previous offences, including a sex offence.

The court heard that on being asked to produce a ticket on a train, Clifton had begun taking various items of clothing off and put them down next to two passengers before looking at them and calling them “terrorists”. Clifton then threatened “don’t make me get my two handguns out” to the train manager and subjected passengers to a barrage of abuse saying “kill all the Muslims” while gesturing as if holding a gun.

Metro and Berkshire Live report Sgt James Smith, of British Transport Police, saying outside court: ‘Clifton’s disgusting and unprovoked actions on the train were completely unacceptable. “We take incidents of hate crime extremely seriously. Behaviour where someone is targeted because of who they are or made to feel uncomfortable will not be tolerated anywhere on the rail network.”

All media articles refer to Clifton as a woman and use female pronouns. Other examples of trans-identified males committing racially-aggravated offences are available here. Other examples of trans-identified males committing violent and/or sexually violent offences on public transport are available here.

A contempt of court judgement from 2015 details a “vendetta” conducted against a housing association that had evicted and banned Clifton from a residential property in 2011. Despite an injunction being obtained for repeated breaches (at least ten), Clifton repeatedly entered the building and the police had to be called as there was a concern for the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable residents and carers in the building after being subjected to Clifton’s threats and abuse. The court also heard Clifton suffers from depression, gender dysphoria, posttraumatic stress disorder and alcohol misuse issues. Clifton was sentenced to just under 8 months in prison and remanded to HMP Pentonville, a category B men’s prison in London, indicating they do not/did not have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

In 2014, Trisha Clifton was observed by several members of the public performing oral sex on another person on the Regent’s Canal towpath in Camden, London and was subsequently convicted of outraging public decency at Highbury Magistrates’ Court. Clifton escaped a jail sentence and received a 12 month supervision order, six months of alcohol treatment and a £60 surcharge for failing to surrender to police bail. In response, Clifton appeared to sidestep any responsibility and blamed alcohol for the offending saying “You can check all my criminal behaviour – I believe I have 25 convictions that took place because of drink.”

Image via British Transport Police

Media reports

Berkshire Live https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/abusive-woman-called-rail-passengers-23681033 archive

Metro https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/19/berkshire-woman-shouted-kill-muslims-and-threatened-to-take-out-gun-16490400/ archive

Reading Chronicle https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/20065991.reading-station-woman-jailed-religiously-aggravated-abuse/ archive

Hackney Gazette https://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/crime/stoke-newington-woman-caught-during-sex-act-on-canal-path-3463166 archive