Transgender rapist Isla Bryson jailed for eight years after attacks on two women

Transgender rapist Isla Bryson, 31, has been jailed for eight years after being found guilty of raping two women while still a man.

Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women, one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019 while known as Adam Graham.

The 31-year-old was sentenced to eight years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh, with a further three years on licence.

The 31-year-old first appeared in court as Adam Graham in 2019
Police Scotland

The case sparked uproar after Bryson was initially housed in an all-female prison before being moved to the male estate following the outcry.

Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown demanded an urgent review of the case and the Scottish Prison Service took the decision to stop the movement of all transgender prisoners with a history of violence against women into the female estate.

After the jury delivered its guilty verdict, judge Lord Scott told Bryson the crimes were “considerable” and said that “a significant sentence is inevitable”.

The court heard that Bryson met both the victims online and prosecutors she said had “preyed” on vulnerable women.

During the trial, the High Court in Glasgow heard Bryson was going through the breakdown of a brief, unhappy marriage and went to stay with the first victim at her mother’s house in Clydebank in 2016.

Giving evidence on pre-recorded video, the victim, 30, said she was raped for half-an-hour.

The second victim, who gave evidence via live video-link, told the court Bryson continued to have sex with her after she said stop.

Bryson claimed that she had known about her trans status from the age of four but only began to be referred to as Isla after the charges.

Isla Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women
Andrew Milligan

The court heard that she is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment.

Bryson denied the charges, telling the court she “would never hurt another human being”.

The jury unanimously found Bryson guilty of raping the second victim, with a majority agreeing she raped the first woman.

Bryson has three “minor” convictions on her record, but none of these required a prison sentence.