That monster, which we are told only exists in the minds of bigots, has once again surfaced in the real world. Yet again, a man who identifies as a transwoman has been convicted of sexually assaulting a child. David Orton, who uses the name Danielle Rose Gemini, is a 25-year-old predator who groomed and impregnated a 14-year-old girl who has been described as ‘vulnerable’. Last week, he was sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.
Of course, there are those who believe that, despite his crimes, Orton’s identity should be respected – that this convicted child abuser could be hurt by the use of male pronouns and that he ought to be incarcerated alongside women. Thankfully, this is not a view shared by Judge Spencer, who insisted Orton will serve his sentence in a male prison. Summing up, he told the defendant: ‘You are a self-pitying and self-obsessed individual who shows no detectable empathy and not a shred of remorse for your actions.’
What makes this case particularly tragic is that, according to the police, for a long time the victim ‘refused to believe that she was being groomed and sexually abused and refuted her parents’ concerns’. Sadly, this is far from unusual. Orton was described by detective constable Sarah Le Boutillier as also having ‘groomed’ the girl’s parents, who initially ‘believed Orton was a genuine friend’. It is to their credit that they did not fall into the fashionable trap of being led by their child. They did their job as responsible adults by reporting his behaviour to the police.
The cultural context surrounding this case warrants attention.
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