Trans woman charged with rape and sex offences against children dies before court date
26 February 2025, 14:42
A trans woman charged with rape and sexual assault offences against children has died, a court has heard.
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Maddison Wilson had been due to appear at Southampton Crown Court to face charges of rape of a girl under 13 and causing a girl aged five to engage in sexual activity which were both alleged to have taken place in Hull, East Yorkshire, in 2011.
The prosecutor told the judge Ms Wilson was "deceased", and a coroner's court listing stated she died on 14 February.
The defendant had attended a preliminary hearing at the court only two days before.
The provisional cause of death was hanging and will be investigated - however the death was not being treated as suspicious, a spokeswoman for Hampshire Coroner's Office said.
For the rape charge, a court listing states: "Between 01/08/2011 and 30/09/2011 in Hull you intentionally penetrated the mouth of a girl under the age of 13 with your penis."
The 37-year-old, of April Square, Portsmouth, had also been charged with the sexual assault of a three-year-old boy and causing a boy aged three to engage in sexual activity with both offences alleged to have taken place in Southampton in 2017 and 2020.
This charge is listed as: "Between 01/10/2017 - 05/07/2020 at Southampton, Hampshire, you intentionally caused or incited a boy under the age of 13, namely three years, to engage in sexual activity of a non-penetrative nature, namely touching your penis."
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Matthew Lawson, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant is now deceased. I have seen an interim death certificate.
"In the circumstances the matter must be discontinued."
In court Judge Nicholas Rowland referred to the defendant as 'mister' while the court list for a previous hearing at the magistrates' court referred to the accused as female.
Judge Rowland, who had not been aware of the defendant's death ahead of the hearing which had been set as a plea and trial preparation hearing, said: "I haven't had any sight of the correspondence concerning Mr Wilson."
After the hearing, Mr Lawson said: "The case will be discontinued administratively because an indictment hasn't been laid."
'To be investigated'
The defendant had previously attended a preliminary hearing at Southampton Magistrates' Court on February 12.
According to the list of recently opened inquests held by the Hampshire coroner, Wilson died on February 14 at East Battery, Castle Field, Clarence Esplanade, on Southsea seafront.
A hearing was held to open the inquest into their death on February 21 and a full inquest has been listed to be heard on January 20 2026.
A spokeswoman for the Hampshire coroner's office said: "The provisional cause of death is hanging, to be investigated."
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said the death was not being treated as suspicious and a file was being prepared for the coroner.
