Transgender inmate charged with sex offences at Wakefield jail

Image source, Google

Image caption, Karen White is accused of four counts of sexual touching at New Hall Prison, Wakefield

A transgender prisoner has been charged with committing four sexual offences against inmates at a women's jail in West Yorkshire.

Karen White, 51, is accused of four counts of sexual touching at New Hall Prison, Wakefield.

The offences are alleged to have taken place between September and November last year.

She appeared before magistrates earlier this month and is due to appear at Leeds Crown Court in August.

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Ms White, who was born male but now identifies as a woman, has since been moved to a male prison.

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) guidance says in the "great majority" of cases transgender prisoners are allowed to "experience the system" in the gender in which they identify.

The department said there were "strict safeguards" to prevent abuse of the way transgender prisoners are managed, and attempts to undermine the system were rare.