Chris Wilson Scottish rights groups are concerned about the prosecution of a trans man for “obtaining sexual intimacy by fraud”, rather than underage sex, for having sex with one 15-year-old girl, and kissing and cuddling another. The 25-year-old has been sentenced to three years’ probation and 240 hours community service after admitting the charge. Wilson had sex with a 15-year-old girl who said she was 16, after telling her he was 16 when he was really 22. He also admitted to lying about his age, and kissing and cuddling another girl who was also 15 at the time. Setting the sentence, Judge Lord Bannatyne said he recognized Wilson did not ‘dress’ as a man in order to commit offences, but always dressed that way. “These are very unusual offences. I have accepted that you genuinely feel that you are male rather than female. “I believe this obviously significantly reduces your culpability. I believe that this can be dealt with by the imposition of a probation order.” Wilson was not charged in relation to breaking age of consent laws, but because he didn’t disclose his birth sex. This has prompted concern that trans people who choose not to reveal their history to their partners could face prosecution. Tim Hopkins, Director of Scotland’s Equality Network, says “Chris Wilson broke the law by having sex with the 15-year-old girl who had claimed to be 16. “But he was not charged for that, instead the charge was ‘obtaining sexual intimacy by fraud’ because in the [Crown Prosecutor’s] eyes he had ‘lied’ about his gender. “It was the wrong charge to bring, and the message it sends to trans people is you will be criminalised if you don’t share your gender history with sexual partners.” On 3 April, The Scottish Transgender Alliance handed in a petition signed by over 2,400 people urgently asking Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to work with trans equality groups. Meanwhile in coverage of the case, media from the BBC to the Daily Mail have described Wilson as 'she', using his former female name, and saying he is a woman who pretended to be a man.