Transgender woman poses as teenager online and shares indecent images

Emma Davies, 60, posed as a 14-year-old girl to speak to girls of the same age and shared an explicit image of a young girl she had received, presenting her as herself.

The supermarket worker told Workington Magistrates' Court that she took responsibility for what happened but that the person was “not who she is today”.

Describing the case, prosecutor Pamela Fee said police attended Davies' home at Moor Place in Frizington on August 31 last year.

Officers had received information that Davies, then known as Nigel, had accessed images of children online.

Police seized devices and a category C image was located on two devices. The image was of a 13-year-old girl and there were other images of the same child on the devices.

Davies was first questioned by police on August 31. She said she had been diagnosed as a “possible transsexual” and thought she might be a girl.

The defendant stated that she had never requested images of a sexual nature. She said she posed as a 14-year-old girl online and spoke to girls the same age.

They talked about things like music and depression, she said, and that “allowed him to be someone who's not me.”

Davies was interviewed again in December 2023 and saw the image that had been found on her devices.

She said she remembered the image but didn't know who it was of. She said they “chatted” and the girl sent a topless image without her asking.

Davies could not remember which platform the image was sent on and said she thought the girl was 13 or 14 years old. The defendant said she thought she would portray herself as a teenager when the image was sent to her.

She said the image was not intended for her own sexual gratification, but rather “the persona of who she wanted to be.”

Davies said she then shared the image of the girl online, pretending it was herself. She said she was still playing her “teenager role” when sharing the images.

The defendant transitioned in February this year, the court heard.

Ms Fee said: “There is a clear need to make a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. There is a risk of additional sexual violence.

“She presented herself as a young girl to talk to other young girls of the same age. She once used devices to talk to people and then got rid of them.

“A small number of images were found. She sent these images to other people, presenting them as herself. This person is a victim of online sexual abuse.

Davies, who was not legally represented, told the court: “It’s a pretty difficult time in my life. I worry a little about who I am today and what happened back then. It was not me.

“I have evolved with who I am. I take responsibility for what happened. I didn't distribute images, as far as I remember. For everything that happened, I'm sorry.

“In the last nine months I have lost a lot. I made the decision to rebuild my life. I am in transition. I would like to have the opportunity to progress in this area.

“I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life. When I talk about probation, it's painful for me to come back to someone I'm not. I don't like this person.

“It was me but it’s not me now.”

Davies told magistrates she did not pose a threat to the public and no longer went online.

She said: “I want to walk away and start again because it’s not going to happen here.

“The person I was wasn’t a very nice person, I guess. I find it very painful and disturbing to bring this person back into my life.

Davies, of Moor Place, Frizington, had admitted making two category C indecent images of a child and failing to surrender bail to court at an earlier hearing.

In passing sentence, magistrates imposed a five-year sexual harm prevention order and a 12-month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activities.

Davies is required to report to the police station as a sex offender within three days.

She was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £114.