Victoria’s Transgender Pedophile in a Women’s Prison

There is growing outrage over a transgender pedophile being housed in a women’s prison in Victoria. Autumn Tulip Harper raped his own 5-year-old daughter on camera for the pleasure of an American pedophile master known as Samuel Booth sending him 77 child abuse files.

Despite this barbaric and heinous crime of a father raping his own daughter, County Court Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis only sentenced Harper who was given the pseudonym ‘Hilary Maloney in court documents, to a minimum two and half years jail term with a maximum of four and half years. In her judgment, she accepted arguments by his defence that he was vulnerable and manipulated by this American pedophile. Stating:

‘Booth encourages and instructs you to engage in a variety of sexual and perverse acts with your daughter,’ ‘You felt tied to Booth because you were not in a good mental state. ‘Booth seemed to care, which is not something you had much of. You feel your life had gone terribly and everything got worse. At first, he was attentive and caring and someone with whom you could share every aspect of your daily life,’

‘(Harper) felt the man she connected with cared for and was nice to her, and due to her low self-esteem, lack of assertiveness, loneliness, submissiveness and desperation to be noticed and cared for, it was easy for him to pick up on her vulnerability and manipulate her into the master/slave relationship where he took control of her life,’

‘He then involved her in sexual exchanges and then coerced her to sexually abuse her daughter and take videos and photos to share with him.

‘She [Harper] was not inherently motivated by deviant sexual interests or any other motive, except doing what he told her and keeping him happy, to sexually abuse her daughter.’

In a report for the court, Forensic psychiatrist Dr Rajan Darjee said that Harper:

‘identified as a female, living as a female and hormonally female’ and exhibited a common ‘pattern of sexual abuse seen in females’.

‘This pattern of sexual abuse is one which a more dominant male pressurises, manipulates and/or coerces a female who has access to a child… to sexually abuse that child and/or to make that child available to him to sexually abuse,’

A report was also made to the court on behalf of Harper by Witt Gorrie, the coordinator of Beyond Bricks and Bars which according to a state government media release ‘provides culturally appropriate and holistic support to trans and gender diverse people at risk of incarceration and in prison’. And also ‘helps justice workers improve their understanding of the diverse needs of trans and gender diverse communities’.

The Allan Government has given Beyond Bricks and Bars $105,000 in taxpayer funds.

This report was taken into consideration by Judge Karapanagiotidis at Harper’s pre-sentence hearing

‘In Mr Gorrie’s experience in working with trans women in the prison system, all have also “reported transphobic bullying and harassment”, along with sexual harassment and abuse, within the custodial environment. 

‘He also referred to some of the common difficulties and delays around receiving and appropriately monitoring hormone replacement therapy in custody. 

‘Mr Gorrie considers that as a young trans woman you would be particularly at risk in prison.’

‘I accept that Mr Gorrie has the expertise and experience to give evidence on these issues and his evidence was not challenged,’

‘The report indicates that all trans women who enter the women’s system are placed in solitary confinement upon reception and remain there for anywhere from five weeks to their entire prison sentence. 

‘Placement in long-term solitary confinement is restrictive and has significant impacts on a person’s mental health. 

Harper is currently being housed at the Dame Phyllis Frost Women’s Correctional Centre in Ravenhell.

There has been community outrage at not just the fact that a male sex offender has been housed in a women’s prison, but was given such a lenient sentence by a judge because they viewed their gender transition as reducing their culpability.

A campaign by Women’s Forum Australia and reporting by News Corp papers and Sky News Australia is calling on the Allan Labor Government to amend Corrections Victoria’s gender self-ID policies to prohibit all male prisoners from being housed in women’s prisons.

While it is wrong to suggest that women who are imprisoned in Victoria are themselves victims, you have to be a really bad girl to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Victoria. Governments do have a duty of care to protect all prisoners from physical and sexual harm from other prisoners. This is why sex segretated prisoners were introduced in the first place. 

When Premier Jacinta Allan was first asked about convicted pedophile Autumn Tulip Harper being housed in a women’s prison on October 2 she deflected, saying it would be deeply inappropriate for her to direct the placement of any prisoner.

Liberal Opposition leader Brad Battin promised that if elected Premier, no person convicted of sexual offences who is a biological male would be housed in a female prison.

Federal Liberal leader Sussan Ley cited Harper’s lenient sentence as why there should be mandatory minimum sentences for commonwealth child sex offences, such as transmitting child abuse material over the internet 

Country Liberal Party NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said this week that her government’s prison policy was clear that if you’re bloke you go to a men’s prison

Currently all states and territories plus the commonwealth have varying forms of transgender self-ID rules. A growing number of politicians from the Coalition are lobbying for laws to revert back to biological reality to protect women and girls.

But at Senate estimates last week under questioning from Liberal Senator Claire Chandler the Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner Dr Anna Cody said she didn’t understand the term biological men.

But there was some good news this week with Victorian Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan informing Parliament he had asked Corrections Victoria to update their polices on prisoner placement so “safety and wellbeing” and “past offending” were given greater weight. Premier Jacinta Allan though denied this was a policy backflip by her Government

The case of this transgender pedophile is yet another example here in Victoria about how the rights of criminals and prisoners are put above the safety of Victorians. Autumn Tulip Harper could be back out the stress before the end of the decade.

You can view the SnapShot report below:

About The Author