Convicted paedophile and transgender woman Karen White, born Stephen Wood, was reportedly undergoing gender reassignment when he was accused of repeatedly raping a woman in 2016.
The 52-year-old, who had already served time in 2001 for a sex attack on a child, was placed in HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, a women-only prison in September last year after informing authorities that he now identified as a woman.
But within days of being remanded in the prison, White sexually assaulted four fellow inmates.
Current rules state, a prisoner must be placed into a jail in accordance with their legally recognised gender. If an inmate identifies contrary to their legally recognised gender, a local Transgender Case Board will meet to assess the situation, while taking into account the previous offending history. It was reported that in this case, that did not happen.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We apologise sincerely for the mistakes which were made in this case.
“While we work to manage all prisoners including those who are transgender, sensitively and in line with the law, we are clear that the safety of all prisoners must be our absolute priority.”
