Ciara Watkin, a 21-year-old transgender woman from Thornaby, Teesside, was sentenced on October 10, 2025, to nearly two years in prison after being convicted of three counts of sexual assault. The case, heard at Durham Crown Court following a trial at Teesside Crown Court, has ignited a national conversation about consent, deception, and the complexities of gender identity in intimate relationships, according to reports from Metro, Teesside Live, and GB News.
The court found that Watkin had deceived an 18-year-old heterosexual man she met on Snapchat by failing to disclose that she was biologically male during a series of sexual encounters. The two initially connected online, with Watkin using a female cartoon as her profile picture. Their conversations led to meetings at the man’s family home in Thornaby, where Watkin wore a padded bra and told the man not to touch below the waist, repeatedly claiming to be “on my period.” She also requested that the bathroom lights be turned off during their encounter and moved the victim’s hands away, further preventing discovery of her biological sex.
After their encounters, Watkin sent a text message revealing a “massive secret” about being born male. The victim, upon learning the truth, was physically ill and began retching, as described in court. Weeks later, he confided in staff at his college, which led to police involvement. The jury at Teesside Crown Court took just 75 minutes to reach their verdicts, basing their decision on Watkin’s failure to disclose her biological sex and the impact this had on the victim’s consent.
The victim, who identifies as a heterosexual male, made it clear in his statement that he would not have consented to any sexual activity had he known Watkin was biologically male. He expressed deep feelings of shame, embarrassment, and distress, stating, “This has left me feeling ashamed and embarrassed, I have been ridiculed online due to Watkin’s deception. I have been so upset over this whole thing.” He also said, “I felt I had to support the police prosecution as I did not want Watkin to get away with what he has done to me. I don’t want him to do this to anyone else.”
The emotional and psychological harm suffered by the victim was emphasized in court. He reported sleep deprivation, anxiety, and ongoing ridicule on social media, which compounded his distress. The impact statement highlighted how the deception had “taken away some of his masculinity” and left him struggling with his sense of self.
Watkin, who was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, was sentenced to 21 months in jail. She will serve half of this term before being released on licence, as reported by Teesside Live. Additionally, Watkin must sign the sex offenders’ register for 10 years and is subject to an indefinite restraining order, barring her from any contact with the victim.
During sentencing, Recorder Peter Makepeace addressed the court, stating, “I simply do not know how you can be so unmoved by what you did given you have always accepted you deliberately deceived an 18-year-old lad, who had done nothing but show you kindness and decency and hospitality, into participating in sexual acts you know he would never have contemplated had he known the truth.” He described the victim as “totally, guilelessly honest,” adding, “If there was a degree of naivety, so what, what 18-year-old does not have, and indeed should have, a degree of naivety; if there was misjudgment it was founded on a genuine trusting nature which is a quality, not a failing – I am only sorry your offending against him is likely to have shattered that trust.”
The judge made it clear that being a trans female is not a mental disorder, stating, “Let me say immediately being a trans female as you identify to be, is not a mental disorder, illness or neurological impairment. But in your case, there is a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, that is a psychiatric diagnosis that refers to the psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity.”
Watkin’s defense, led by Victoria Lamballe, argued that her client’s actions were influenced by a difficult upbringing, persistent bullying, and her struggles with gender dysphoria. Lamballe described Watkin as having a “crass and licentious” side but emphasized her vulnerability, saying, “To walk a court landing in this defendant’s company, is to walk a gauntlet of abuse. It is hardly surprising that she has built up a caricature of herself, to hide her inner turmoil.” Lamballe noted that Watkin had identified as female since primary school, and that her gender identity was “not a matter of preference or choice but a deeply ingrained aspect of her identity.”
However, the court also heard that Watkin was uncooperative during meetings with probation officers, often using “overtly sexual language” and repeatedly asking when meetings would end. The probation report concluded that Watkin showed “not a shred of remorse towards your victim,” and the judge remarked, “You have no understanding that you have done anything at all wrong.”
Recorder Makepeace also criticized certain media coverage and social media commentary that ridiculed the victim for being deceived. He stated, “Certain newspapers and social media commentators have gleefully poured scorn over the fact that the victim was fooled and the way he was, and quite wrongly cast doubt on his ignorance of the truth. That has seriously increased the impact of your offending upon him. Let me make it plain – he was totally deceived. Those who seek to question that, should have in mind the images of you circulated on social media have been deliberately selected, to ridicule the suggestion he could have been fooled. There are many images, not used in such parody, which demonstrate how convincing your appearance in your elected gender could be on occasions. I do not think such an approach would have been taken by the uninformed, had the victim in such a case been female.”
The case has raised important questions about the nature of consent and the necessity for full disclosure in sexual relationships, particularly where gender identity and biological sex may not align. Detective Constable Martin Scotson, who worked on the case, summarized the issue: “This case is about true consent and the victim not being informed of exactly what he was consenting to. Ciara Watkin deceived the victim in this case, leading him to believe that throughout their sexual relationship she was a woman, when in fact she was biologically male. Ciara purposely concealed her sex in order for the sexual activity to take place, and had the victim been aware that Ciara was biologically male, he would not have consented.”
As Watkin begins her sentence, the case continues to reverberate across the UK, sparking debate about the boundaries of consent, the experiences of transgender individuals, and how the legal system navigates the intersection of identity and criminal responsibility. For both the victim and the defendant, the aftermath will likely be long-lasting, leaving a mark on their lives and on the broader conversation about trust and truth in intimate relationships.
