The federal government has acknowledged that two transgender inmates in women’s prisons faced sexual-assault charges following complaints from female inmates, while defending its gender-based prison policy.
Ottawa disclosed the cases in a statement of defence filed Monday in a constitutional challenge against Correctional Service Canada’s policy governing “gender diverse” offenders.
According to the filing, one inmate was charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of criminal harassment in May 2020 after a female inmate filed a complaint.
A second inmate was charged with two counts of sexual assault following a complaint from a female inmate in October 2024.
The filing does not establish that either inmate was convicted of those charges, as first reported by the National Post.
