Trans rapist Isla Bryson never wanted to be a girl as a child, mum says
12 February 2023, 12:09 | Updated: 12 February 2023, 12:11
Transgender rapist Isla Bryson never wanted to be a girl when she was a child, according to her mum.
Janet Bryson, who is a rape survivor herself, said she is "disgusted and heartbroken" that her son is a rapist.
Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women, one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019.
She committed the offences when she was a man, named Adam Graham.
Her case caused controversy after Bryson was initially housed in a female prison, before being moved to a male estate.
The 31-year-old's mum told the Sunday Mail her child gave no indication of being transgender while growing up.
She said: "I don't know why it took him until he was 29 to say he wanted to become a woman. But I understand why some people think it's just a way of getting out of going to a male prison.
"My son never expressed any wish to me that he wanted to be a girl, dressed in any other way or ever asked to be called by any other name than Adam growing up. Never once, at the age of four or at any other age.
"I would understand it more if this had been something he had been doing for years but that's just not the case."
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During her trial, Bryson said she identified as transgender from the age of four, but never transitioned until the age of 29.
She is currently taking hormones and will undergo surgery to complete gender reassignment, the court heard.
In the wake of Bryson's case, the Scottish Prison Service carried out an urgent review of the case and made recommendations on the management of transgender prisoners, which Bryson's mum said she understands.
She continued: "My son is a rapist. I don't see how he can go to a women's prison. I understand why people have been so worried about someone like Adam, who has done what he has done, being sent to a prison full of women."
Isla Bryson will be sentenced later this month.
