Imprisoned trans woman laments sentencing to male penitentiary following conviction for possessing lewd pictures of minors
A notorious transgender criminal, previously convicted for child pornography charges, laments the distress of being housed in a male prison.
Sophie Carter, age 40, hails from Southsea, Hampshire, who underwent a gender change after being apprehended with illicit images of children, now finds themselves facing the hardships of being in a male correctional facility.
Previously known as Dominic at the time of arrest, Carter was involved in a tussle with law enforcement authorities and since appeared in court adorned in pink garments and sporting pink nail polish.
Carter, who worked as a tree surgeon before their conviction, was caught with 11 lewd images of children found on two seized phones. Eleven images were categorized as: two Category A (most severe), three Category B, and six Category C.
After admitting to three counts of child pornography creation in April 2021, Carter received a six-month jail sentence suspended for 18 months. Alongside the prison term, Carter was mandated to complete 60 hours of rehabilitation activity and 120 hours of community service.
However, Carter has breached the suspended sentence conditions multiple times and has been brought back before the courts on four separate occasions. Now, Carter has been sentenced to another six-month stint in jail.
Eve Shelley, assigned as Carter's defense attorney, pleaded during a hearing at Southampton Crown Court that Carter is being detained at HMP Winchester, which is a Category B men's correctional facility. Shelley voiced her concern and the distress it was causing the defendant to be housed in a male environment.
At the hearing, it was reported that Carter missed several appointments with probation and neglected to inform authorities of a change of address. Carter was said to have adopted a chaotic lifestyle after the conviction, reportedly becoming homeless.
The court heard that Carter deceived the authorities by pretending to have been kidnapped and holding them hostage for a £140 ransom demand. The authorities spoke with Carter throughout the day until they arrested the defendant.
Currently, Carter is in custody at HMP Winchester.
Further Reading
Transgender Offenders in the Criminal Justice System: An Overview
"Transgender offenders confront numerous challenges in prisons, such as risk of physical and sexual violence, health care denial, and restricted access to programs due to their gender identity[1][4]. Advocates argue for protections against such systemic discrimination through legal measures[2]."
[1] Human Rights Campaign. (2019). State of Transgender Rights in the United States. Retrieved from: http://www.hrc.org/resources/state-of-transgender-equality-in-america
[2] American Civil Liberties Union. (2019). A Federal Prison System of Horrors and Humiliation: The Treatment of Transgender Prisoners in the Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved from: https://www.aclu.org/report/illusion-freedom
[3] National Center for Transgender Equality. (2015). Federal prison reform key actions to ensure equality for transgender people in the Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved from: https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/resources/BOPEngagementMemo_FINAL_1-page.pdf
[4] Transgender Law Center. (2018). Transgender Prisoners' Rights in the U.S. Retrieved from: https://transgenderlawcenter.org/transgender-prisoners-rights-US
[5] National Center for Lesbian Rights. (2015). Johnson v. Federal Bureau of Prisons: Transgender Women Challenge Unconstitutional Treatment in U.S. Prisons. Retrieved from: https://www.nclrights.org/resources/johnson-v-federal-bureau-prisons-transgender-women-challenge-unconstitutional-treatment-us-prisons/
On April 2021, Sophie Carter, a former tree surgeon from Southsea, Hampshire, was sentenced to six months in jail for child pornography creation. Previously known as Dominic, Carter was caught with lewd images of children and received a suspended sentence with mandated rehabilitation and community service. However, multiple breaches led to Carter being sentenced again in 2023. Currently, Carter is housed in HMP Winchester, a men's correctional facility, a situation that is causing distress for Carter's defense attorney, Eve Shelley.
In the context of transgender offenders, being housed in a male prison poses numerous challenges such as physical and sexual violence, health care denial, and restricted access to programs due to their gender identity. Legal measures have been proposed as a means to protect transgender offenders from systemic discrimination within the criminal justice system.
Organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, American Civil Liberties Union, National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Law Center, and National Center for Lesbian Rights have advocated for various policy changes to address the needs of transgender prisoners, highlighting instances of unconstitutional treatment in the U.S. prison system. Further reading can be found in the resources provided for a deeper understanding of the issues faced by transgender offenders in the criminal justice system. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
