A transgender double rapist who sparked fury after being placed in a female prison has cost taxpayers almost £30,000 in legal aid. Isla Bryson, 31, was convicted of raping two vulnerable victims, while still known as Adam Graham.
Jurors found Bryson, who began transitioning in 2020 after being charged, guilty of attacking both women with "her" penis in Clydebank in 2016 and Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2018. Following a five-day trial at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Lord Scott remanded Bryson, who claimed to have had consensual sex with both women, in custody.
Anger erupted after it emerged the fiend was being held in segregation in female-only HMP Cornton Vale. Following pressure from politicians, campaigners and the public, the rapist was later moved to a male wing at HMP Edinburgh. Yesterday, prison bosses claimed no women were put at risk by the decision to hold the rapist in segregation at Cornton Vale.
It has now emerged Bryson, of Clydebank, has so far been given £29,376 to fund a defence team led by Edward Targowski KC. Officials confirmed the payments had been made for the trial of Adam Graham. The final figure is expected to increase as firms have four months following the conclusion of proceedings to claim funds from the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB).
The row over transgender prisoners has dominated Scottish politics since the conclusion of the trial. This week the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed newly convicted or remanded transgender prison inmates will initially be placed in jails according to their gender at birth.
The policy was confirmed in an urgent review which found a double rapist being placed in a women's jail did not put female prisoners at risk of harm. However, the SPS said it received "conflicting" details on Bryson but added no women being held in Cornton Vale were placed at the "risk" of harm.
After the trial, it emerged Bryson had enrolled on a beauty course at Ayrshire College and remained there for three months before being asked to leave. Her classmates were almost exclusively young females and were not aware of the rape allegations but one said they felt 'violated' following the guilty verdicts.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has received criticism for refusing to say whether Bryson is male or female. At First Minister's Questions, Tory leader Douglas Ross asked repeatedly if Bryson would be treated as a man or woman on release from jail but Sturgeon refused to say.
A spokesman for SLAB said: "Anyone charged with a serious criminal offence has the right to a fair trial and effective representation helps ensure that. As well as preventing miscarriages of justice, paying lawyers to provide representation for an accused eligible for legal aid helps the trial process to run smoothly and can help reduce inconvenience and distress for victims and witnesses."
Bryson has been placed on the sex offenders' register and is expected to be sentenced later this month.
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