Transgender Sex Offender Sentenced

By Greg Jordan
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
May 17, 2017

http://www.bdtonline.com/news/transgender-sex-offender-sentenced/article_dd1e8d38-3aa2-11e7-bee1-e384a1658ec9.html


After citing a lack of remorse and attempts to discredit a victim, a special judge sentenced an admitted transgender man to spend between two to 10 years in prison for first-degree sexual abuse.

James Lilly, 25, of Bluefield was brought before Special Judge John A. Hutchinson of Raleigh County, who was appointed after Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope recused himself. Lilly pleaded guilty in August 2016 in Mercer County Circuit Court to three counts of first-degree sexual abuse. Each charge carries a penalty of one to five years in prison.

Lilly, a former youth pastor, was arrested Jan. 12, 2016 and later indicted on 28 counts of first-degree sexual abuse as well as charges of third-degree sexual assault and incest. After his arrest, Lilly told detectives with the Bluefield Police Department that he was transgender and in the process of becoming a woman.

Hutchinson and the attorneys at Tuesday’s hearing referred to Lilly as “Mr. Lilly” and “he.”

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Adam Wolfe told Hutchinson that the state thought prison was appropriate for Lilly, while Lilly’s attorneys, Greg Ball and Paul Cassell, asked the judge to consider alternative sentencing. Ball and Cassell both said that Lilly, as a transgender, faced a higher chance of being assaulted by other inmates.

Before passing sentence, Hutchinson said he reviewed Lilly’s evaluations, and pointed out instances when Lilly tried to discredit the female victim who had been abused for several years, and “was not taking full responsibility for his involvement in this horrific act.” Lilly also downplayed the severity of the charges against him.

“Having read the statements, I believe he is not being honest with us or himself,” Hutchinson said, later adding, “I don’t believe he is truly remorseful. I believe he is sorry, but he’s sorry he got caught.”

Hutchinson ordered that two of Lilly’s one to five year sentences run concurrently. They will then run consecutively with the third charge of first-degree sexual abuse. This gives him a sentence of two to 10 years in prison. Lilly will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and he will be under 30 years supervision after his release.

Lilly was sent back to the Southern Regional Jail in Beaver, and Hutchinson signed an order placing him in a state prison as soon as possible.

At one time, Lilly with a youth ministry at the Christ Episcopal Church in Bluefield. He served at the church for six months, and was hired with a grant from the Diocese of West Virginia, Rector Chad Slater said after the arrest. Slater said there had not been any complaints about Lilly at the church and no allegations of misconduct.

The victim came forward after learning that Lilly was studying to be a teacher and student teaching at a school.

The principal at that school, Bluefield Intermediate, said later that Lilly was an observer in 2015, but had little interaction with the students. Adams said earlier that the victim is a female juvenile, and that the abuse began in 2009.

During the December 2016 hearing, Hutchinson spoke of Lilly’s pre-sentencing report and emphasized that gender disorientation is a recognized condition, saying that he psychologically identifies with being a female.

Marvin Plumley, director of compliance and audits for the state Department of Corrections, testified at Lilly’s sentencing that the prison system currently has only one transgender person, a woman transitioning into a man, at this time. Each inmate’s case is handled individually. How an inmate will be incarerated is based the inmate’s current biological sex when he or she is brought to prison. Lilly would be placed under “special management,” which includes provisions such as a private cell and not showering with other inmates.

Special management is not like the “protective custody” seen on television shows when inmates eat in their cell and leave it only for exercise. The DOC likes to start with the least restrictive measures, and offer opportunities for treatment and education, Plumley said.

One appropriate prison would be the Northern Regional Correctional Facility and Jail in Moundsville, Plumley said. It has more single cells, and has housed other special inmates such as informants.