Convicted Sex Offender Changes Gender In Bid To Serve Time In Women’s Prison

The story of this criminal could almost be considered funny, until you realize the extent of his crimes. A sexual predator with a "psychopathic profile" has been arrested in Spain after a manhunt, during which he changed his gender to female in an effort to avoid serving his sentence. It was thought that he did so to be able to serve time in a women’s prison.

After a bid to obstruct justice – and his eight-year prison sentence – the sexual predator has been arrested in Cuenca in central Spain. A major police operation has finally ended with the arrest of one of the country’s most-wanted sex offenders.

Identified only as Vicent L.G., the 40-year-old has been on the run since early April, when he failed to appear at the Provincial Court of Castellón to start his eight-year sentence for sexual assault.

According to the National Police, the fugitive used a calculated legal strategy to disappear by registering a gender change to “female” in the Civil Registry. Investigators say this was likely a deliberate attempt to make his identification harder, while resetting his legal status in a bid to ultimately influence at which prison facility he would serve his time.

He was wanted on an outstanding warrant for imprisonment for sexual assault, having fled before his court hearing. He had also abandoned the tracking device he was wearing as part of a court order for the protection of his victims.

Police track down the offender

After a protracted search for the offender, the breakthrough came when specialized Homicide and Fugitive units of the National Police tracked him down to a luxury villa in the small town of Montalbo in Cuenca, Spain. He was reportedly using the property as a safe house, provided by his current partner.

While the suspect made an effort to remain hidden by changing his gender, the police stormed the villa on Thursday last week, ending 28 days of international search. Authorities described the arrest as a high-stakes operation due to the offender’s “dangerous and unpredictable” nature.

Extensive and disturbing criminal record

The sex offender’s criminal record is extensive and disturbing, as he was sentenced for multiple counts of sexual assault and coercion. His actions most notably involve a 21-year-old woman, where he used a fake job advertisement to lure her in, before forcing her to make a video including explicit sexual content.

However, according to authorities, the convict has around 40 prior complaints against him for sexual assault and coercion. He also has a record of gender-based violence and other related crimes.

His “modus operandi” often involved impersonating a police officer to intimidate, manipulate, and exert control over his victims. The National Police classify him with a “highly dangerous/psychopathic profile.”

Psychiatric evaluations of the offender cited by the police in the investigation describe him as having a total lack of empathy.

With the case involving the suspect’s legal transition to female, this has sparked much debate regarding Spain’s so-called “Trans Law” with its potential for abuse by criminals. However, according to judicial experts, the move will likely be treated as a “fraude de ley” or fraud of the law.

Meanwhile, as the suspect’s crimes were committed – and the original sentence handed down – before his gender change, he is expected to be processed based on the status of his gender at the time of the offenses.

In fact, the National Police stress that the gender change was a “procedural maneuver” designed to bypass the system of justice. Now that he is in custody, the prisoner has been transferred to judicial custody to immediately start his eight-year sentence.