Biological male Scottish rapist requests transfer to women's prison

A convicted sex offender in Scotland who is serving an eight-year prison sentence for raping a care worker has started identifying as a woman and wishes to go by the name of Claire, according to the Daily Record.

Albert Caballero, 50, was convicted of raping the care worker at the predator’s Edinburgh flat in Dec 2018. Staff at HMP Edinburgh were reportedly shocked when the inmate requested lipstick and eye makeup and adopted a new name. 

Sources at Edinburgh’s Saughton Prison told the Daily Record that the new identity is recent and that the convicted rapist is seeking transfer to a women’s prison to serve out the remainder of the sentence.

Caballero is eligible to apply for parole having already served half of the 8-year term, but the request could be denied if the Parole Board of Scotland deems the individual not safe to release.

A senior staff source at the prison told the Daily Caller that Caballero’s behavior was chilling. 

“There’s something about him that calls to mind Silence of the Lambs. He has mad, staring eyes and sometimes they just seem to go right through you,” said the insider. “There has been talk in the jail about the prospect of him seeking a move to be among women but, given his offence, don’t see how anyone would risk it, even the most vociferous person in favour of self-ID.”

Caballero’s request coincides with the passing of Scotland’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which seeks to make it easier for people to change their legal sex. The UK government invoked its Section 35 powers for the first time in history, blocking the bill from Royal Assent, claiming that it would have a detrimental impact on UK-wide equality laws.

Scottish Conservative MSP Russell Findlay had sought to introduce an amendment that would have prevented sex offenders from being permitted to change their legal sex by self-declaration, but the clause was rejected by the Scottish Parliament.

Caballero assaulted the young woman who had been providing home care for some months after she visited the rapist’s Edinburgh apartment on December 27, 2018. When it came time to leave, the victim found the door to the apartment locked. The then 46-year-old predator proceeded to attack her, despite her efforts to fight back. She was left so traumatized by the assault that she has been unable to return to work since.

Caballero was placed on the sex offenders’ registry indefinitely and sentenced to serve eight years in prison.

Women’s rights campaigners have been vocally opposed to the controversial gender self-ID bill, arguing that allowing males to declare themselves to be women puts women and girls at risk. There have been numerous cases of male sex offenders identifying as women after being convicted and requesting transfer to women’s prisons. 

“This is not an uncommon situation. The advantages are obvious: special treatment in the male estate and the possibility of being transferred to a women’s prison,”  Dr Kate Coleman, of the Keep Prisons Single Sex campaign told the Daily Caller.

According to Reduxx, Caballero is the third rapist in Scotland to declare a transgender identity in the space of a week.

On January 15, a serial sex offender who targeted women in changing rooms and bathrooms reportedly started identifying as a woman and going by the name Charlene. Mallon has requested transfer to a women’s prison and has reportedly been boasting to fellow inmates about being housed in a female facility by spring.

Just days later, another male sex offender on trial for the alleged rapes of two women announced a transgender identity. Adam Graham, 31, reported now goes by the name of Isla Bryson and was referred to using she/her pronouns in court and in UK media coverage. Court documents show Graham has been charged with raping the women with “her penis.”

A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) told the Daily Caller that each request is assessed individually.

“The SPS uses comprehensive individualised risk assessments to inform decisions such as the appropriate location of transgender people in custody and not the basis of a Gender Recognition Certificate,” said the spokesperson.