A British man who claims to identify as female was charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a ladies’ bathroom, police say.
Ian Bullock, 39, attacked a woman in a female bathroom at Birmingham New Street rail station March 21, 2022, according to a Tuesday press release from the British Transport Police (BTP). While in custody, Bullock told police the reason he was in the female bathroom in the first place was because he identifies as a woman.
The victim saw Bullock loitering when she entered the bathroom and thought it was strange that a man was in the female bathroom, but assumed he worked for the railway station because he was wearing a high-visibility employee jacket. When the victim went to wash her hands, Bullock bent down as if he was going to grab something off the floor and then sexually assaulted her, police said. The victim put up a fight against Bullock, who then left the bathroom “casually.” (RELATED: Security Guard Arrested For Removing Man From Women’s Bathroom)
The victim notified train station employees following the alleged assault, who then called BTP. She continued watching Bullock in the station as he removed the work jacket he had been wearing and put on a beanie as a means of disguising himself, according to the press release.
A man has been sentenced to prison after sexually assaulting a woman in the female toilets at a train station in Birmingham, UK.
Upon questioning by police, Ian Bullock claimed he had been in the women’s restroom because he identified as “female.”https://t.co/nsPHoaL2yj
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BTP were able to identify Bullock and proceeded to take him into custody.
Bullock was convicted of sexual assault Dec. 12, 2022, and sentenced to 16 months in prison Feb. 7, according to police. His name was also added to the sex offender’s register for a 10-year term, the press release noted.
Bullock has also been prohibited from entering or loitering around female bathrooms following his release from prison.
“Bullock is a dangerous individual who deliberately changed his clothing that morning in order to loiter in the female toilets undetected and launch this vile, pre-meditated assault on the victim in a space she had every right to feel safe in,” Detective Inspector Ian Wright said in the press release.
“I would like to commend the bravery of the victim, who faced with an unimaginably awful situation immediately challenged Bullock and reported what had happened to station staff,” Wright added.
