When Sophie Louise Carter was caught with indecent images of underage children she was a tree surgeon known as Dominic.
But by time the 39-year-old was hauled before court to face sentence, dressed in a pink-t-shirt and shorts with pink nail polish on, she identified as a woman.
The criminal is one of a number of trans sex offenders who committed their crimes as men before transitioning while facing justice or behind bars.
The spate of recent cases was brought into focus by the jailing of Isla Bryson in Scotland. The rapist was convicted of sex attacks on two women, a crime she committed while still a man.
Her case sparked uproar after she was initially sent to an all-female prison before being moved to a male facility. Since then a number of similar cases have been brought before the courts.
In the latest, Abigail Waller, who was jailed for child sex offences while living as a man named ‘Jamie’, returned to the dock just three years later to face new charges – now identifying as a woman named ‘Abi’ after transitioning in prison.
With Waller behind bars for a second time, MailOnline looks into the cases of sex offenders who committed their crimes as men but arrived in court to face trials as women.
Hellbound and Down 