ISLA Bryson has been sentenced to eight years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh.
The 31-year-old was convicted last month of raping one woman in Clydebank in 2016 and one in 2019 in Drumchapel, Glasgow while still known as Adam Graham.
Bryson met both the victims online, with prosecutors saying the 31-year-old “preyed” on vulnerable women.
The convicted rapist will serve eight years in prison, and a further three years on licence, the High Court ruled.
The case sparked a debate over whether Bryson should be housed in a male or a female prison after they were initially taken to Cornton Vale in Stirling and held in segregation after the guilty verdict was handed down.
It ultimately led to a review and a change in policy which will see all newly convicted or remanded transgender prisoners initially placed in jails according to their birth sex.
The sentencing judge, Lord Scott, said Bryson posed a high risk of reoffending and would be supervised for three years after release.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) review was ordered by Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown and its key findings were made public earlier this month.
It showed that the SPS had made the decision to divert Bryson to Cornton Vale women’s prison, rather than the planned destination of HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow while they were in transit.
Nicola Sturgeon confirmed that Bryson would not be incarcerated in Cornton Vale “either short-term or long-term” during an exchange at FMQs last month.
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 their mother’s house in Clydebank in 2016.
Giving evidence on pre-recorded video, the victim, 30, said she was raped for half an hour.
“All I said was ‘no’ over and over and over again,” she said.
“At the time I was so scared. Sick to the stomach. I just didn’t know what was going on.”
The second victim, who gave evidence via live video-link, told the court Bryson continued to have sex with her after she said stop.
The court heard Bryson entered the victim with “her penis”, and was told to stop because Bryson was “crushing” the victim.
The victim’s police statement said Bryson instead told her to “stay there” because “he (Bryson) wasn’t finished”.
The victim told the court: “I said to stop but he (Bryson) just kept on going, and that’s when I just closed my eyes and I am doing what he wanted to do.”
Giving evidence during the trial, Bryson claimed both women consented to having sex.
Bryson spoke of identifying as transgender at the age of four but not making the decision to transition until age 29.
