In April 2021, Alexander Secker raped a woman after a night out in Blunsdon, Swindon. Secker was charged under the same name but later started identifying as a transgender woman and using the name Lexi Secker.
Swindon Crown Court was told the accused would be tried as a woman, despite having committed the crime before identifying as such. This means that court officials addressed Secker as “Ms. Secker” and “she.” Although only men can commit rape under UK law, which desribes the act as offence of penile penetration.
Secker was found guilty of one count of rape in June and has since been sentenced to 6.5 years in jail.
A detective constable from Wiltshire Police said in a statement that “this case has taken a long time to get to this point, but I’m pleased to say the victim has trusted the police throughout and stayed with this despite the hurdles. They have such incredible strength and I hope it shows others that they can do this too.”
Reporting on the news of the verdict in June, the BBC headlined with: “Trans woman Lexi Secker jailed for six years for rape.” This prompted one women’s rights campaigner to describe the corporation as “lost.”
BBC news is lost 😔
— Sharron Davies MBE (@sharrond62) September 28, 2024
Comedian and trans-critical activist Graham Linehan also joked: “Don’t you just love the BBC?”
While sentencing, the judge made clear to Secker:
At the time of this offence, you were a man. You identified as a man and you were, on the evidence, clearly attracted to women.
Secker’s sentence will be carried out in a male prison.
Pedophile Chloee-Mae Danvers, a man who identifies as a woman, also last month pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order by contacting a child believed to be just nine years old for the purpose of sexual abuse. Women’s activist news site Reduxx highlighted that this took place while Danvers was already awaiting sentencing for possessing indecent images of children, including one Category A image—the most serious kind.
Sentencing should have taken place last week, but has been pushed back to next month.