Fri, August 22, 2025 at 10:41 AM EDT
Ciara Watkin has been found guilty of two counts of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration - Terry Blackburn/Backgrid UK
A trans woman who deceived a man in order to sleep with him is facing jail for sex offences.
Ciara Watkin, of Stockton, Teesside, spent the night with the man at a house in Thornaby after they met on the social media platform Snapchat.
The 21-year-old – a biological male who identifies as a woman – lied about being on their period so the man did not touch below the waist, then performed sex acts on him.
The victim told the court he did not believe that his attacker was a
trans woman.
A jury at Teesside Crown Court convicted Watkin of two counts of sexual assault and one of assault by penetration.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC thanked the jury for their consideration of these “serious matters” and said he would pass sentence on Oct 10. He ordered a pre-sentence report and said a psychiatric report may also be needed.
Watkin was granted bail but the judge said “jail was the overwhelming likelihood”.
The judge urged the prison authorities to consider the “very real management issues” that jailing the defendant would pose.
Tricked the complainant
During the trial, the Crown argued Watkin successfully tricked the complainant, described as a “naive young man”, and that he would not have consented if he knew the defendant was trans.
They met again for a second time at his home and the victim’s mother suspected Watkin was trans, but did not say anything to her son, the court heard.
His friends came to his house and also suspected Watkin was born male, jurors were told.
Later, Watkin confessed to being born male to the man, with the complainant saying the revelation left him feeling sick. He told police he “didn’t swing that way”.
Watkin, who has not had gender realignment surgery, wanted to be female from the age of seven, the court heard.
Summing up the case before the jury retired, the judge said the Crown’s case “could not be more straightforward”.
He said: “Ciara Watkin made full admissions in her interviews with police. They say there is no question she set out to deceive him as to her true gender. That was done to secure sexual relations with (him).”
The defence case was that Watkin made the admission to police because the defendant wanted to be seen as a woman.
The judge said: “The defence say this is an accused person who has fooled herself into believing she successfully deceived (him). She so wants to be female, she has actually fooled herself.”
The judge said the defence had argued the victim realised Watkin was trans “from the outset” and had lied “to avoid the ridicule of his friends”.
The judge further summarised the defence case as: “Whatever Ciara might believe about successfully fooling (him), she is so obviously male, he couldn’t have been fooled.”
‘Serious sexual offences’
Sarah Nelson, senior Crown prosecutor at CPS North East, said: “It is clear from the evidence in this case that, prior to engaging in sexual activity with the victim, Watkin had made no attempt to inform him of her transgender status.
“The Crown Prosecution Service has shown that, by failing to disclose this to him, it would not have been possible for him to give informed consent to sexual activity.
“The victim has made clear in police interview that he would not have engaged in sexual activity had he known that Watkin was transgender and, consequently, these events have had a significant impact on his mental wellbeing.
“We hope that he can take some comfort from seeing Watkin convicted for these serious sexual offences today.”
