Trans woman faces sexual assault trial for deception about gender

A transgender woman is on trial for sexual assault after allegedly concealing her male genitalia from a date arranged via Snapchat and engaging in sexual acts without the man knowing her gender identity, a Crown Court heard. Prosecutors say Ciara Watkin, 21, performed sex acts on the man at a Thornaby home years ago, while hiding that she had a penis and telling him she was on her period. The defendant denies two counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual assault by penetration, and the case remains before Teesside Crown Court.

The prosecution outlined the sequence of events as the two exchanged messages on the social media platform and then met at a house in Thornaby. It is claimed that Watkin pretended to be a woman, and that throughout the encounter she prevented contact below the waist by claiming she was on her period. After the incident, Watkin allegedly contacted the man to reveal a “massive secret,” telling him, “Im trans. Im sorry I didn’t tell you.” Jurors were shown messages in which the man questioned the disclosure, including exchanges that included the words “That’s why I haven’t s you” in response to his confusion. The man told police he would not have...