Gloucester woman fined for grabbing transgender man's genitals

Karen Waldron groped the transgender man after asking "are you male or female?"

A woman who grabbed a transgender man's genitals after demanding to know what sex he was has been convicted of sexual assault.

Karen Waldron, 53, touched the man in a bar in Cheltenham in February while he was on the dancefloor with a friend.

She denied wrongdoing, claiming she was just looking out for a friend who had "taken a shine" to the man.

But Waldron, of Matson Avenue, Gloucester, was found guilty by magistrates in Cirencester.

The defendant was ordered to pay her victim, aged in his 20s, £300 in compensation.

She had approached him in Yates bar and asked him "are you male or female?", Cirencester Magistrates' Court heard.

'Not appropriate'

Prosecutor Graham Dono said that when the victim explained he was a male "Waldron responded by saying 'Are you sure?', to which the male replied 'It's none of your business'.

"Waldron then placed her hand between his legs, grabbed his genitals and squeezed, no doubt to try to establish that he was a male.

"He responded by asking the woman what was she doing and told her that it was not appropriate."

Waldron replied "I don't care", the court was told.

Mr Dono said Waldron admitted what she had done after the victim reported her to the venue's door staff.

Following her arrest at about 01:20 GMT on 6 February, Waldron told officers the touching was not sexual.

'A sexual assault'

She claimed it was "more of glance with the back of her hand that only lasted a second or two".

"Waldron was extremely intoxicated and this was a drunken and gratuitous touching of the man's genitals," Mr Dono said.

Giving evidence, the victim said he had been transitioning since 2016.

Waldron told the court she was with a group of friends and was trying to protect one, who was vulnerable, after they had taken a shine to the victim.

Finding her guilty, presiding justice Susan Bruckel said: "We've listened to all the evidence and whatever the motivation, or whatever the circumstances, touching somebody in their genital area is deemed a sexual assault."

As well as the £300 compensation, Waldron was also fined £150, ordered to pay court costs of £149 and a surcharge of £1.

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