The Age: Trans inmate jailed for child sex abuse no danger to female prisoners, says lawyer
Michael Barnett OAM
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Trans inmate jailed for child sex abuse no danger to female prisoners, says lawyer
Wendy Tuohy
A trans inmate jailed in a women’s prison for child sexual assault is being kept in solitary confinement and is no danger to other prisoners, her lawyer has said.
Women’s rights advocates and the Victorian Liberals are calling for the transfer of Hilary Maloney, a court imposed pseudonym, to a men’s prison to serve the remainder of a 2½-year minimum term for abusing her five-year-old daughter and sending the videos to an overseas paedophile in 2023.
Maloney is being held in Dame Phyllis Frost women’s prison.Angela Wylie
But Maloney’s defence lawyer, Isabelle Skaburskis, told this masthead her client would face serious risks in a men’s prison.
“[Maloney] has been in solitary confinement for 13 months, which is a form of torture under international law,” Skaburskis said. “If she were moved to a men’s prison, she would almost certainly be physically or sexually assaulted.”
“Ms Maloney is a vulnerable individual who does not pose a threat to other prisoners, and Corrections Victoria is failing to keep her safe.”
Maloney pleaded guilty to one charge of producing child abuse material for use through a carriage service, one charge of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material and one charge of persistent sexual abuse of a child under 16.
County Court Judge Nola Karapanagiotidis accepted the assaults on the little girl were performed and filmed by Maloney at the behest of American paedophile Samuel Booth. Maloney met Booth online and was convinced to be his “slave”.
She was 24 at the time and identified through police intelligence from the US. Victorian police found 77 files categorised as child abuse material on Maloney’s phone, including 13 videos and 64 images, which were transmitted to Booth via the chat platform Discord.
They included images of the little girl with Maloney.
The court heard the victim had suffered behavioural issues since the offending and her mother had her sense of safety and trust eroded.
Karapanagiotidis said during sentencing in 2024 that the offences were grave and involved a breach of trust of the most fundamental and serious kind on a young, vulnerable dependant.
“Your conduct does need to be unequivocally denounced,” she said.
But Karapanagiotidis noted that Maloney had co-operated with police, expressed regret and that the prosecution case was that “you consistently expressed hesitance and concern about the abuse of your daughter, but nonetheless continued to comply with requests made”.
“There is no dispute between the parties that the relationship between you and Booth was one involving coercion and manipulation of you,” the judge said.
“Booth cultivated and exploited a relationship with you through affirmation and attention, which in turn validated you as a woman and a sexual person,” she said.
Rachael Wong, CEO of conservative think tank Women’s Forum Australia, said it was “a grave injustice to the vulnerable women imprisoned there [Dame Phyllis Frost], many of whom carry histories of sexual abuse and trauma”.
Premier Jacinta Allan has not commented on the issue and Corrections Minister Enver Erdogan did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
Victorian Minister for Corrections and Youth Justice Enver Erdogan did not respond to requests for comment.AAP
Victorian Opposition Leader Brad Battin said he supported trans people and the right of “everyone to live their lives however they want, as long as it doesn’t impact the safety and security of others”.
However, he said Maloney should be transferred.
“There is no place for a paedophile father in a women’s prison. Vulnerable women should not be forced to live with a male sex offender – this is a bridge too far,” he said.
“Premier Jacinta Allan must end her silence on this and take action.”
Opposition Leader Brad Battin.Joe Armao
Women’s rights advocates held a small protest outside Dame Phyllis Frost prison on Friday, holding signs that read: “No men in women’s prisons.”
Angie Jones, who hosts a podcast titled TERF Talk Down Under, said she protested at the prison to defend female prisoners’ human rights.
“I am concerned that any man can declare a trans identity and be sent to a female prison and concerned that they could harass and intimidate vulnerable women,” she said.
The court was told forensic psychiatrist Rajan Darjee had found Maloney suffered gender dysphoria from an early age and grew up as a trans child in an environment of transphobia and intolerance.
Karapanagiotidis said: “Growing up, you knew you were different, and at the age of nine, you knew that you were ‘not in the right body’ but did not know who to speak to about it.”
The judge said the sentence took into account that Maloney would face additional hardship in prison “as a relatively young trans woman and that you will struggle considerably, more so with prison life than the average inmate”.
The judge noted that Darjee believed Maloney was highly unlikely to commit further sexual offences.
A Victorian government spokesperson said: “The safety and welfare of all prisoners in the system is paramount when determining placements.
“The placement of prisoners is subject to regular review. We do not comment on individual prisoners or their placements. It would be inappropriate to comment on sentencing outcomes made independently by the courts.”
