The mother of transgender rapist Isla Bryson has said the 31-year-old never mentioned wanting to be a girl as a child.
Janet Bryson told the Sunday Mail she is “disgusted and heartbroken” that her son has turned out to be a rapist.
Isla Bryson was convicted last month of raping two women, one in Clydebank in 2016 and one in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019, committing the offences while still a man known as Adam Graham.
The case sparked an uproar after Bryson was initially housed in an all-female prison before being moved to the male estate following the outcry.
Giving evidence during the trial at the High Court in Glasgow, Bryson spoke of identifying as transgender at the age of four but not making the decision to transition until the age of 29.
The court heard that Bryson is currently taking hormones and seeking surgery to complete gender reassignment.
The 31-year-old’s mother 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.”
The Scottish Prison Service carried out an urgent review of the case and made recommendations on the management of transgender prisoners.
Janet Bryson said she understands the concerns.
She told the newspaper: “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.
