TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 26-year-old transgender woman who sexually assaulted a child in 2014, when she was a teenager, is being sent to a juvenile facility instead of a jail for adults, the Los Angeles Times reported.
In 2014, Hannah Tubbs sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in the bathroom of a Denny’s restaurant in Palmdale, California. She reportedly grabbed the child by her throat and sexually assaulted her until someone else walked into the bathroom.
According to reports, Tubbs has a lengthy criminal record including violent crimes in multiple states. After an arrest in 2019, her DNA was put into a national database, and she was identified as a suspect in the 2014 assault. She was arrested and charged with molestation in 2021.
Tubbs confessed to the crime in Nov. 2021, but the case was prosecuted in juvenile court since the assault happened before her 18th birthday. She was sentenced to two years in a juvenile facility.
Tubbs’ case was never transferred to adult court due to Los Angeles County Dist. Atty George Gascón’s policy of refusing to try teens as adults. Gascón has cited studies showing the human brain is not fully developed until age 25. His office did not file a motion to have Tubbs’ case transferred to an adult court, according to Judge Mario Barrera.
“I want to be clear,” Barrera said. “The filing of a transfer motion is entirely within the discretion of the district attorney.”
According to the Times, Gascón had expressed concern for Tubbs’ safety at a jail for adults since she is transgender, and said she could get treatment and therapy at a juvenile facility.
Lawyers for the Los Angeles County Probation Department asked that Tubbs be transferred to an adult lock-up to serve out her term.
Justin Clark, a lawyer for the county, argued the court could grant their request, pointing to a California law that says those over 19 can be jailed in an adult facility. But the judge disagreed, saying the law limits his authority to transfer Tubbs to a different facility.
The judge ordered Tubbs to be transferred to to a youth facility where she will serve out the remainder of her sentence. Tubbs is not required to register as a sex offender since she was underage when the crime occurred, Deputy Dist. Atty. Shea Sanna told the Times.
