This Never Happens, A Weekly Update

The original This Never Happens documented 236 cases of trans-identified males — biological men — committing acts of violence, sexual assault, and predation against women and children. My colleague JL built and maintained that list for years. When she stopped, the cases didn’t.

The phrase “this never happens” is what we are told when we raise the subject of male violence against women in the context of gender self-identification. It is what we are told when we point out that prisons, shelters, hospital wards, and changing rooms — spaces that exist specifically because of the reality of male violence — are being opened up to any man who states a belief that he is a woman. It never happens, we are assured. You are a bigot for suggesting it might. You are a transphobe for demanding evidence. You are hateful, hysterical for noticing patterns that any police database could confirm in an afternoon.

It happens. It happens every week.

This is an ongoing series. Each entry is documented, sourced, and as detailed as the available reporting allows. I have also noted, in every case, how the publications covering these crimes chose to refer to the perpetrator — whether they used male or female pronouns, and what that choice conceals or reveals. Language matters. When a man who has raped a nine-year-old girl is referred to throughout a news report as “she,” something is being done to the reader. I think you should know when that is happening.

Ciara Watkin

Ciara Watkin. Credit: Instagram / Terry Blackburn / BBC

Pronoun usage: The BBC used female pronouns throughout, referring to Watkin as “she” and “her” in every instance, consistent with BBC editorial policy. The CPS press release likewise used female pronouns: “prior to engaging in sexual activity with the victim, Watkin had made no attempt to inform him of her transgender status.” The victim himself, who said he “didn’t swing that way,” did not use female pronouns in his police statement. Neither the BBC nor CPS noted in their headlines that the perpetrator was biologically male.

Ciara Watkin, 21, a biological male from Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, was convicted on 22 August 2025 at Teesside Crown Court of two counts of sexual assault and one count of assault by penetration. Watkin had met the 21-year-old male victim on Snapchat, using a female cartoon character as a profile picture, before meeting in person. Over the course of several days in June 2022, Watkin performed sexual acts on the victim at a house in Thornaby. During these encounters, Watkin prevented the man from touching her below the waist by telling him she was on her period — a deliberate deception to conceal her male genitalia. The sexual activity continued over multiple occasions, including at the victim’s own home. Watkin had not undergone any medical treatment or surgery and had used the name Ciara since the age of 13. After the encounters, Watkin initially blocked all contact with the man, then eventually revealed via text message that she was transgender and had male genitalia. The man immediately filed a complaint with police, stating he would not have met Watkin had he known, as he did “not swing that way.” Prosecutors argued the case turned on “informed consent” — that without knowledge of the perpetrator’s biological sex, genuine consent to sexual activity was impossible. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for approximately one hour before convicting on all counts. Sentencing was set for 10 October 2025. The judge noted that imprisonment was possible. Watkin was placed on the sex offenders register immediately following conviction. The CPS’s Senior Crown Prosecutor, Sarah Nelson, said the assaults had had “a significant impact on the victim’s mental wellbeing.” (UK)

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Solomon Galligan (also known as Carmen Galligan)

Solomon Galligan. Credit: Aurora Police Department / NY Post

Pronoun usage: The New York Post used male pronouns and the birth name Solomon throughout, while noting that Galligan “now reportedly goes by Carmen.” The Post referred to Galligan as “he” and “him” in all instances. Local Colorado outlets such as 9News were more inconsistent, sometimes using female pronouns in line with Galligan’s stated identity. The prosecuting assistant DA referred to Galligan using the female name “she” during court proceedings, per local reporting.

Solomon Galligan, 33, a registered sex offender who had adopted the name Carmen and identified as a woman, attempted to snatch an 11-year-old boy during recess at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado in April 2024. Security camera footage captured the moment Galligan approached the child. Galligan had a documented history of serious mental illness and had cycled repeatedly through Colorado’s criminal and civil justice systems. After his arrest, Galligan was assessed by doctors and found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. In August 2025, charges were formally dismissed after evaluators determined Galligan could not be “restored” to competency — meaning, under a 2024 amendment to Colorado’s competency law, the judge had no choice but to drop the case entirely. The prosecuting assistant DA, Ryan Brackley, said publicly: “Someone could ask that she be put into a more long-term, secure facility, but because the criminal case had to be dismissed, that’s not something that we have any control over anymore. And that’s why we find the statute deficient.” Galligan’s own defence attorney called Colorado’s criminal justice system “broken.” The DA’s office said Galligan was at a treatment centre and could only be released if a licensed professional certified he was no longer a threat — a safeguard that critics noted had already failed multiple times over Galligan’s history. The DA on the case subsequently faced a recall campaign over the handling of the matter.

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Unnamed transgender illegal alien — child sex crimes charges, July 2025

Pronoun usage: The DHS press release used no pronouns, referring only to “a transgender illegal alien accused of child sex crimes.” Fox News, covering the same case, used male pronouns and described the perpetrator as a biological male. The individual’s name was not published in the July 2025 reporting, though DHS indicated criminal proceedings had formally commenced.

In July 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced that criminal proceedings had begun against a transgender-identifying illegal alien accused of child sex crimes — a case DHS described as among the “worst of the worst.” The individual had been residing in a US sanctuary city, which DHS said had initially shielded the perpetrator from federal immigration enforcement despite the active child sex crime allegations. The case was highlighted by DHS as an example of the dangers posed by sanctuary city policies preventing cooperation with ICE. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that the individual had been scooped up by federal agents after local authorities declined to honour an immigration detainer. The nature of the specific child sex offences — and the number and ages of victims — was not published in full at the time of the July 2025 announcement, pending the ongoing criminal proceedings. Fox News reported that the individual had been described by law enforcement sources as posing a significant ongoing danger to children and that the case involved multiple alleged victims. The outcome of criminal proceedings was not yet reported as of the date of this entry.

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Oliver Smith — January 2025 (UK)

Oliver Smith. Credit: Daily Mail

Pronoun usage: The Daily Mail noted Smith “uses they/them pronouns and suffers from gender issues” — and used they/them throughout the piece. Portsmouth Crown Court also used they/them. The victim’s parents, who watched the sentencing, were not reported to have used any particular pronouns.

Oliver Smith, 21, a biological male identifying as non-binary, was jailed for 12 years at Portsmouth Crown Court on 24 January 2025 after abducting and raping a 14-year-old girl at knifepoint as she walked to school in Bordon, Hampshire. Smith had lain in wait in woodland, scoped the attack location in advance, wore gloves to avoid leaving evidence, and brought a box-cutter knife. When the terrified schoolgirl tried to flee during the 45-minute assault, Smith grabbed her mouth to muffle her screams and threatened to stab her in the throat. Afterwards, Smith washed the victim in a river to destroy forensic evidence. Smith then fled 600 miles north to Scotland but was caught. The court heard Smith had a “deeply disturbing” manifesto and a pornography addiction. Crucially, just nine months before the rape, Smith had already been convicted of voyeurism and possessing child sexual abuse images — and had escaped a custodial sentence. The judge at Portsmouth Crown Court jailed Smith for 12 years. The victim’s parents watched the sentencing in person.

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Richard Kenneth Cox — January 2025 (USA)

Richard Kenneth Cox. Credit: WJLA

Pronoun usage: WJLA used male pronouns throughout. The school district initially declined to comment on how it had allowed a life-registered sex offender access to a swimming pool used by children.

Richard Kenneth Cox, a Tier III sex offender required to remain on the sex offenders register for life, was arrested in January 2025 after exposing his genitals in the girls’ changing room at the Washington-Liberty High School swimming pool in Arlington, Virginia. Cox was charged with intentionally making an obscene display of his genitals in a public place and loitering within 100 feet of a school while prohibited from proximity to children. Court documents confirmed Cox identifies as transgender. Cox’s offending history spans decades: in 1992 he was convicted of knowingly exposing himself to minors after masturbating in front of a large group of children in a gymnasium, with his penis in his hand. In 2007 he was convicted of six counts of possessing obscene materials involving a minor. In 2021 he was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender. Despite this history, Cox was present at a school swimming facility where children were changing. Arlington County Public Schools did not immediately explain how this had been permitted to happen.

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Scarlett Lee (born Scott Henwood) — June 2025 (UK)

Scarlett Lee. Credit: South Wales Police / Wales Online

Pronoun usage: Wales Online used female pronouns throughout, describing Lee as “she” and “her” in every instance, including in the headline. The judge’s remarks, as quoted, also used female pronouns. South Wales Police provided a custody photograph.

Scarlett Lee, 30, born Scott Henwood, a biological male from Wales, was sentenced to two years and four months imprisonment at Cardiff Crown Court on 3 June 2025 after being found in possession of a folder of animated images depicting child sexual abuse — and after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order by accessing social media under a different name following gender transition. Lee had first been convicted of possessing prohibited images of a child in February 2024, receiving a community order and an SHPO. The reoffending was discovered by a support worker cleaning Lee’s room in supported accommodation, who noticed a sexual message on Lee’s phone. When the manager investigated further, Lee voluntarily showed her an animated sexual image on a computer. A police search of Lee’s electronic devices then found 80 images depicting child sexual abuse. Lee pleaded guilty to possession of prohibited images and breach of the SHPO. Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke told Lee: “You have no regard for orders made by the court. You have a persistent interest in child abuse images” and said Lee had “no or little realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”

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Manfred Sperling (also known as Amanda Joy Cooper) — February 2026 (Canada)

Manfred Sperling, aka Amanda Joy Cooper. Credit: Canadian Inmates Connect / NY Post

Pronoun usage: The New York Post used male pronouns and the birth name Manfred Sperling throughout, while noting the female alias. The CBC, which originally broke the story, used female pronouns and the name Amanda Joy Cooper. Sperling’s lawyer used female pronouns in court. Corrections Canada’s own documents, as quoted, also used female pronouns.

Manfred Sperling, 58, a serial sex predator with a decades-long offending history, began a legal bid in February 2026 to be transferred to a Canadian women’s prison, now identifying as Amanda Joy Cooper. Sperling was first convicted of sexual assault at 19. After release, he embarked on a four-day sex assault spree: he grabbed a 12-year-old girl who was rollerblading in a Montreal mall parking lot by the neck and threatened to rape her, and sexually assaulted two women. A judge at the time described him as a man who “does not hesitate to use his strength, weight and size to control his victims.” He was declared a dangerous offender and sentenced for an indeterminate period. In his first year in prison, Sperling threatened to sexually assault and kill female prison staff, resulting in transfer to a super-maximum security men’s prison. He began identifying as a woman around 2020, and in 2024 underwent full gender reassignment surgery — funded entirely by Canadian taxpayers at an estimated cost of $30,000. Sperling now blames all his crimes on his “dead self.” Corrections Canada has so far rejected the transfer requests, noting Sperling’s history of “obsessive attachments” to female staff and assessing him as “a very high risk to the safety” of female inmates. Sperling went to federal court to challenge that decision.

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Alexandra Stewart (born Alan Baker) — April 2026 (Scotland)

HMP Greenock, where Alexandra Stewart is held. Credit: Getty / BBC

Pronoun usage: The BBC used female pronouns throughout — “Stewart was jailed for the murder,” “she was held in a women’s unit.” The BBC noted the biological sex of the perpetrator — “a biological male who identifies as a woman” — while still using female pronouns consistently throughout the piece. The Scottish Prison Service declined to comment.

Alexandra Stewart, 38, born Alan Baker, a biological male serving a life sentence for murder, was charged with the sexual assault of a fellow inmate at HMP Greenock, Scotland’s only women’s prison, in April 2026. Stewart stabbed John Weir 16 times at his home in Bonhill, West Dunbartonshire in 2013 and was jailed for life. Despite this, Stewart was moved to a women’s unit at HMP Greenock in 2016, following a gender identity declaration, under Scottish Prison Service policy permitting risk-assessed placement of trans-identified males in the female estate. Stewart is thought to be one of only two trans-identified males currently held in Scotland’s female prison estate. In the year before the assault charge, Stewart had accused a fellow female prisoner of transphobia in a legal case — a case that was subsequently dismissed. Police Scotland confirmed a report had been submitted to the procurator fiscal over the sexual assault. The Scottish Prison Service said it was “inappropriate to comment on ongoing proceedings.” The case comes amid a legal challenge by For Women Scotland to the SPS’s policy on trans prisoners, following the UK Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that “woman” in the Equality Act means biological woman.