Britnee Aitken 49

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A transgender father of two awaiting gender reassignment surgery has been jailed in a male prison for three years after being exposed as a paedophile.

Britnee Aitken, 47, will have her treatment delayed after two girls said she molested them ten years ago when she identified as a truck recovery driver called Marcus.

One of the victims, then six, said she targeted them under the guise of offering to play board games.

They said she poked her genitals through a letter box when they knocked at the front door.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, Aitken appeared in the dock wearing a low cut woman's blouse and sporting makeup and long red hair.

She was referred to as 'she' and 'her' during the hearing that saw her convicted of three charges of sexual assault and one of exposure.

She was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for life. She denied any wrongdoing. The Ministry of Justice told MailOnline she will go to a men's prison.

The sexual offences occurred after Aitken, from Rochdale, went public about a bizarre legal battle over a 30 fine imposed by police in 2008 for playing her Riverdance CD too loudly inside her car.

Identifying at the time as Marcus she had refused to pay the fine, and in the months after she was pestered by demand letters and received six visits from bailiffs to her home and the debt eventually rose to 270 because of administration costs.

She said the bailiffs demanded entry at 7.30am and shouted threats through the letterbox while she was inside with her then girlfriend and their two sons.

In 2008 a judge quashed the fine on appeal. The court heard the offences against the girls occurred between July and September 2012 when they visited his home.

Mr Ben Berkson prosecuting said: 'The defendant was then known as Marcus Aitken and the girls were five or six years old at the time.'

In a statement one of the victims said: 'I suffer flashbacks due to the abuse and I get angry when I contemplate and think about what this person did to me.

'What happened has affected my ability to form and maintain relationships with friends and family and the abuse has caused me to struggle with anxiety and anger management. I am concerned about these things will impact my life going forward.'

itken who was charged in 2020 had no previous convictions but had accepted a caution in 2012 for having an illicit 'upskirt' video of another little girl aged seven.

In mitigation defence counsel Adam Roxborough said: 'These offences occurred over a short period ten years ago and there is no suggestion of any repeat offending since.

'During that time Miss Aitken has maintained a good work ethic as a recovery truck driver and led a decent life.

'She has fragile mental health and given her sexuality, she has suffered abuse on a regular basis. It is for her a daily issue.

'That, she hopes, would come to an end to an extent when she is able to have gender reassignment surgery and her plans for that were moving ahead for this year. Of course any custodial sentence would put that progress back considerably.

'She has to be punished but the question is whether that punishment should effectively cause such damage to her notwithstanding the damage she has caused to others.

'She still does not recognised her guilt but a sentence of imprisonment could be suspended. It must be a difficult life for her to lead at the moment..'

Sentencing Judge John Edwards told Aitken: 'I bear in mind the difficulties you may encounter in a custodial environment but this offending was sustained, predatory and very distressing for these girls.

'It has had a significant emotional impact on one of them, she being vulnerable and impressionable courtesy of her age.

'You presented as an almost avuncular figure, happy on the surface to indulge those children with games, when your true motives were more sinister.

'You crossed a very clear boundary in order to indulge your attractions. Your caution plainly displays an interest in young children.'

Aitken was also ordered to abide by a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will bar her from 'loitering' near schools or children's play areas.