Sex offender, 27, who identifies as a woman and is being held in a men’s jail sexually assaulted female and male prison officers while being served food in cell

A sex offender who identifies as a woman and is being held in a male prison has admitted to groping two prison officers while being served food in a cell.

Katana Paris, 27, who was serving a three-year prison sentence for assaulting a nurse, assaulted male and female staff at HMP Forest Bank in Manchester last year.

The first officer, a woman, was carrying breakfast to Paris’ cell with the help of two prisoners when the perpetrator walked over and touched her inappropriately.

The next day, Paris reached through the cell door hatch and grabbed the genitals of a male officer as he attempted to serve lunch.

Paris admitted to two counts of sexual assault at Manchester Crown Court and was sentenced to a further six months in prison.

Paris assaulted the male and female staff of HMP Forest Bank in Manchester last year

Prosecutor Megan Edwards said Paris, who uses feminine pronouns, was on remand in prison for assault.

On the day of the incident, a female prison guard was having breakfast around 7:50 am.

Mrs Edwards said: ‘She approached the defendant’s cell and unlocked the door to serve her breakfast.

‘She got out of the cell, which was unusual, because prisoners usually stayed in their cells.

She asked the defendant to go back, but the request was ignored. The defendant then placed a hand on her hand before slipping her fingers between her knuckles.”

The officer walked away and the two prisoners who helped handed over Paris’s breakfast.

The suspect then “jumped up and down” as if “excited,” before walking over to the woman and touching her genitals.

“She said nothing when she did this, but she was shocked and in disbelief that she had deliberately touched her like that,” the prosecutor added.

One of the prisoners, the court heard, told the officer, “Did she just have your…”

The officer replied, “Yes, she just touched me.” Not wanting the rest of the inmates to know what had happened, the prison warden continued to serve breakfast before reporting the incident.

Paris, who uses feminine pronouns, was on remand in prison for assault

A day later, a male guard was serving lunch when he went to Paris’ cell, who was described as “quite aggressive.”

As he opened the hatch of her door and passed the food, Paris reached out his right hand and grasped his genitals.

“He immediately felt violated and used his physical strength to push her back into her cell,” Ms Edwards said.

Paris, who has convictions for 87 offences, was handed a 37-month prison sentence after she pulled a nurse to her genitals at the hospital, the court heard.

Soothingly, Rochelle Collins said her client was suffering from mental health and emotional regularity issues at the time.

“She is extremely sorry and tells me this happened at a time when her mental health was at its lowest,” she said.

“She doesn’t want to continue this kind of behavior. No further complaint has been made while she was in custody.’

Judge Nicholas Dean KC said at Manchester’s sentencing: ‘Prison staff are put in a vulnerable position – they are described as social workers.

“They are in a situation where they are vulnerable to these kinds of attacks and they deserve and need the protection of the court if such attacks happen.

“I’ve read and considered a report, and I’m not convinced you’ve shown any significant remorse.

“It seems to me that you find what you did rather trivial.”

Paris is now at HMP Swaleside in Kent and will be on the sex offenders register for five years.