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Sex offender who identified as trans woman and abused teenage girl is jailed

David Orton, 25, also known as Danielle Rose Gemini, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child. (Leicester Police)
David Orton, 25, also known as Danielle Rose Gemini, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child. (Leicester Police)

A sex offender who identified as a trans woman and sexually abused a 14-year-old girl, making her pregnant, has been jailed for more than nine years.

David Orton, 25, also known as Danielle Rose Gemini, was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 15 following a trial.

The victim had initially refused to believe she was being groomed and sexually abused and refuted her parents’ concerns, police said.

But in June last year, the teenager came forward to provide information about her relationship with Orton, a family friend, and detailed what she had been subjected to.

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General view of Leicester Crown Court, Leicester.
The offender was jailed at Leicester Crown Court. (PA)

In October 2020, the teenager's parents raised suspicions about their daughter’s relationship with Orton, who often stayed over at the victim’s home.

After the victim changed her mind and talked to officers, Orton was interviewed and subsequently charged with four counts of sexual activity (penetrative) with a girl aged 13 to 15 and two counts of rape of a girl aged 13 to 15.

Following a trial, Orton was found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child aged 13 to 15 and not guilty on the other four counts, and sentenced to nine years and six months in prison.

Orton, of Willowbank Road, Hinckley, was sentenced on Thursday at Leicester Crown Court.

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During his sentencing, Judge Spencer described the defendant as “a self-pitying and self-obsessed individual who shows no detectable empathy and not a shred of remorse for your actions”.

He added: “Those actions have destroyed a mother and daughter relationship at a time when they should have been close, caused devastation to the wider family and taken away the teenage years of a child that can never be re-lived.”

Investigating officer detective constable Sarah Le Boutillier said: “Orton used the victim’s vulnerability for their own gain and not only groomed the victim, but also her parents who believed Orton was a genuine friend.

“Throughout our interviews, Orton refused to accept that there was any wrong doing and that they were in fact the victim. The claims were unfounded.

It is not clear whether Orton still identifies as a trans woman.