Transgender predator released from prison following child sex offences convicted of raping 'vulnerable' friend weeks later
14 March 2023, 10:33 | Updated: 14 March 2023, 10:40
A transgender predator has been convicted of using 'her penis' to rape a vulnerable friend following her release from prison for child sex offences.
Lexi-Rose Crawford, 24, a biological male who now identifies as female, began identifying as a woman after serving a four-year jail term for having sex with an underage girl she met online.
Just weeks after her release, Crawford was found to have reoffended, after the woman recounted in court how the paedophile pinned her down before assaulting her.
It took less than two hours of deliberation for the jury to find Crawford guilty of rape and sexual assault.
Appearing at Bristol Crown Court on March 10, Crawford told the court she had no recollection of the incident after claiming she suffered from regular blackouts.
Crawford only began using female pronouns in January 2019 following her release.
Crawford's victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is widely known to be a vulnerable adult.
The victim told Bristol Crown Court: "[Crawford] wanted me to lie down next to [her] and then tried to start … cuddling me, which I don’t feel comfortable with anyway. And then she started removing my clothes, which I didn’t want."
Describing how Crawford visited the victim in order to play computer games, the court heard how despite her repeated protests, Crawford continued with the attack.
In response to the defence's questions of why she didn’t fight back, the victim added: "What could I have done without using physical contact to stop [her]?
The victim added: "And then that could have been me in the wrong by using physical contact to stop [her]."
Prosecutor David Scutt labelled Crawford's blackout defence a "convenient excuse.", highlighting the fact there was no medical evidence to support the claims.
Mr Scutt added: "It appears you can remember the good stuff, but you cannot remember the bad stuff. Are you pretending that you can't remember?"
Crawford, speaking with American accent - despite not having lived in the US at any point, simply responded: "No."
Crawford was previously jailed for having sex with an underage teenager in 2017 - a conviction that could only be reported following the conclusion of the trial.
Aged 18 at the time of his previous offence, Crawford arranged to meet a 15-year-old girl before taking her to a secluded woodland spot and telling her: "You are going to get laid".
Crawford, who was released on conditional bail following the guilty verdict, will now be sentenced on May 10.
If she receives a prison sentence, Crawford will be placed in a men's prison due to recent UK prison policy reforms.
