Estranged wife of transgender sex attacker Isla Bryson slams eight-year sentence for two rapes

The estranged wife of transgender sex offender Isla Bryson has dismissed the double rapist’s eight-year sentence as “not enough”.

Bryson was jailed in Edinburgh High Court on Tuesday for the rape of a woman in Clydebank in 2016 and a second victim in Drumchapel three years later, while still a man known as Adam Graham.

Shonna Graham, 31, says the ordeal of Bryson’s two victims was overshadowed by controversy over the prisoner’s gender transition.

She told MailOnline: ‘He – and I will always call him him – will be out of prison in four years, but his two victims will have to live with this for the rest of their lives.

‘It’s an insult to them that his entire ordeal was barely discussed and it was all about him and what kind of prison he should go to.

Isla Bryson leaves Edinburgh High Court in a prison van after being sentenced to eight years in jail today

‘They are the ones who are suffering and all he has done is pull off a coup to try and get a lighter sentence.

“I’m glad they finally made sense and put him in a men’s prison and I hope he has a hard time there, he deserves it after what he’s done.”

The double rapist will serve his sentence at HMP Edinburgh, also known as Saughton Prison, which was built in 1920 and holds around 900 prisoners a day.

Shonna said she thought 15 years would have been a more suitable sentence for the double rapist, but she appreciated Lord Scott’s words as he told Bryson: “You see yourself as the victim in this case.” You are not.’

But he added: “The judge was correct, but in my opinion he did not comply because eight years, as it will come out in half the time, does not reflect the seriousness of his crimes.”

“That will mean that the victims’ trauma will come back too quickly and not give them a chance to heal.”

Bryson, 31, was sentenced to eight years in prison, with another three years on leave.

Photos outside court on Tuesday show the double rapist, who changed his sex while awaiting trial, hiding behind a long blonde hair and pink hooded sweater inside a prison van after Lord Scott told him: “Clearly you present a particularly significant risk.” Any woman you are in a relationship with.

Bryson, who committed the two rapes while still a man known as Adam Graham, met the victims online and prosecutors said the criminal “took advantage” of vulnerable women.

The case caused quite a stir after Bryson was initially housed in a women’s prison. Following this protest, the criminal was transferred to male property.

Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown has ordered an urgent review of the case and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has halted the movement of all transgender prisoners with a history of violence against women to the female estate.

Shonna said she thought 15 years would have been a more suitable sentence for the double rapist, but she appreciated Lord Scott’s words.

It came just weeks after the devolved Scottish Parliament passed a bill to make it easier for people to change their legal gender, drawing criticism from women’s rights campaigners who argue that predatory men could use it to gain access to spaces. single-sex, such as bathrooms.

The Westminster government has since said it will block the change because it would have an impact on equality issues in the rest of the country.

The issue also came to a head shortly before Nicola Sturgeon said she would step down as Scottish First Minister after almost a decade in power, saying she had become too divisive.

During today’s sentencing, Lord Scott noted that Bryson continues to ‘vehemently deny’ the wrongdoing, claiming the victims ‘conspired’ to press charges.

The court heard that the rapist, who appeared in court wearing a blonde wig, black leggings and a fluorescent pink jacket, is still seeking full gender reassignment and is receiving “the maximum recommended prescription doses of hormones” from the clinic Glasgow Sandyford sexual health services.

Defense attorney Edward Targowski KC said this, along with the ‘troubled early years’, made Bryson vulnerable.

Bryson, 31, was convicted last month of raping two women, pictured outside court for an earlier hearing.

Undated file photo issued by Scottish Police of Bryson Island, formerly known as Adam Graham

He told the court that the offender’s move to transition after both violations was not “an afterthought cynically designed to reduce punishment,” contrary to what he described as “misinformed and misjudged comments” made outside the court. court.

But Lord Scott said the gravity of the crimes “far outweighs” Bryson’s extenuating circumstances.

He acknowledged that Bryson is considered “vulnerable in some way” due to adverse childhood experiences, but said: “You see yourself as the victim in this situation.” You are not.

Your vulnerability is absolutely no excuse for what you did to these two women.

You raped two women who can be considered vulnerable.