Los Angeles DA blasted for charging trans woman, 26, as juvenile in sex assault of minor
LOS ANGELES (TND) — Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón is facing criticism over his blanket ban on trying juveniles as adults after a now 26-year-old transgender woman pleaded guilty to assaulting a 10-year-old girl, weeks before turning 18, and only faces a short stay in juvenile detention.
Hannah Tubbs pleaded guilty to grabbing a 10-year-old girl by the throat, locking her in a stall and putting her hand down the victim’s pants, according to the Los Angeles Times. The incident, which ended after someone else walked into the bathroom, occurred two weeks before Tubbs turned 18.
Tubbs is to be sentenced later this month, Fox News reported, at which time she will allegedly be facing a short stay in juvenile detention, probation or a combination of both.
It’s useless to catch criminals like [Tubbs] if we don’t follow through and seek justice for victims such as the 10-year-old girl [she] sexually assaulted. She bears the burden of a lifetime of trauma,” Kathryn Barger, an L.A. County Supervisor, told The Times. "[She] will be offered therapeutic interventions under the auspices of ‘restorative justice’ ... and possibly granted only probation or parole. Where is the justice for [her] young victim and her family?
Gascón argued the case was complicated due to the time gap between when the case occurred and when Tubbs was apprehended, the Times reported. Tubbs did not become implicated in the crime until 2019, after her DNA was entered into a database following a separate assault in Idaho, the L.A. Sheriff’s Special Victims Bureau said, according to The Times.
Gascón added there was a possibility Tubbs could be victimized if placed in an adult facility, The Times reported, pointing to a probation report which suggested Tubbs be sentenced to home confinement.
In December, a second effort to recall Gascón was initiated, after an earlier attempt failed due to a lack of signatures supporting the move, according to Ballotpedia.
Gascón's own sheriff, Alex Villanueva, has been a frequent critic of the district attorney. Just this week he chose to bypass Gascón on a murder case involving the death of a cop and handed it off directly to federal authorities.
According to The LA Times, Villanueva had planned to hold a news conference on Tubbs’ case this week with recall leaders and crime victims’ organizations, but it was ultimately canceled.
