The estranged wife of transgender rapist Isla Bryson says she hopes her ex "rots in jail" after Bryson was jailed for the rape of two women.
Bryson, 31, will serve eight years in prison and spend a further three years on licence after being convicted of a rape in Clydebank in 2016 and another in Drumchapel, Glasgow, in 2019. She was named on the charges under her male "dead name", or former name, of Adam Graham.
Speaking to the BBC, Bryson's wife Shonna Graham said she thought the rapist saw her transition as "a big joke", after beginning the gender reassignment process after being charged. Shonna met Bryson when she was a man in 2015 and they married the following year – adding that at no point had she expressed any desire to become a woman.
Shonna, also 31, said: "The way I see it is: he is a man, he done the crime as a man… he should do the time in a man's jail. You can't do a crime as a man then want to transition once you've been charged with it.
"That's how you know it's all a big joke to him. I hope he rots in jail.
"The victims are more important. I hope the victims can put this evil person behind them."
Lawyers for Bryson, who appeared in court wearing a blond wig and dressed in leggings, said she is still pursuing full gender reassignment. The court heard that she is on the maximum dose of hormone treatments from the Sandyford gender clinic.
As he sentenced Bryson, judge Lord Scott noted that she continued to "vehemently deny" the offences and claimed her victims had "colluded" to press charges. The judge, while noting what lawyers called Bryson's "troubled early years", made clear to the rapist that her actions could not be excused.
He said: "You see yourself as the victim in this situation. You are not. Your vulnerability is no excuse at all for what you did to these two women.
"You raped two women who can both be regarded as vulnerable. You are not at the stage of accepting what you did or acknowledging the serious harm you inflicted on two women."
The case sparked uproar after the convicted rapist was initially housed in an all-female prison before being moved to the male estate. Scottish Justice Secretary Keith Brown ordered an urgent review of the case and the Scottish Prison Service took the decision to halt the movement of all transgender prisoners with a history of violence against women into the female estate.
Following Bryson's sentencing, Scottish Conservative shadow community safety minister Russell Findlay said: "In reality, an eight-year prison sentence means this double rapist could be back on the streets in as little as four years, which will likely be of little comfort to victims. Going forward, the prison service must publish its delayed new policy on transgender prisoners, allowing for full scrutiny, feedback and, if necessary, amendment."
SNP leadership candidate Humza Yousaf was asked about Bryson's case as he spoke to journalists on Tuesday. He said: "Isla Bryson is deceptive, manipulative, trying to get advantage of the system. I hope they're incarcerated and will be incarcerated in a male prison."
Asked about the policy of gender self-identification, he said: "I don't think we should be rolling back on trans rights because of one despicable individual."
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