A transgender inmate convicted of filming the sexual abuse of a 7-year-old girl has officially been listed as female by the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), despite reports the inmate still retains male genitalia.
Marina Volz, formerly known as Matthew, was one of four people sentenced in 2022 for the sexual abuse and exploitation of a 7-year-old girl, NJ.com reported at the time. Volz, the girl’s biological father, took the child from her mother’s home in Oregon in December 2018 to a home in New Jersey where Volz ran a home-made “transgender pornography” production business with associates, Reduxx reported.
A sadistic pedophile who tortured his 7-year-old daughter to make child abuse material for his “transgender porn” business has now been classified as a “female” offender by the state of New Jersey.
Marina Volz is currently housed in a women’s prison.https://t.co/HVGr6dOTf4
— REDUXX (@ReduxxMag) May 1, 2023
Two of Volz’s associates, Ashley Romero (formerly known as Adam) and Sean Allen repeatedly filmed their sexual abuse of the child, prompting an anonymous tip to the New Jersey Child Abuse hotline, which led to an investigation and arrest of the individuals involved, NJ.com reported. (RELATED: Gay Couple Accused Of Sexually Abusing, ‘Pimping Out’ Adopted Children)
After sentencing in 2022, Volz was initially sent to the South Woods State Prison for men, but was quietly transferred to the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, joining Romero, who was already at the facility, Reduxx reported. Though at a women’s prison, Volz was reportedly still listed as a male until a recent change to the NJDOC website listed the inmate as female. A source within the prison told Reduxx female inmates have confirmed Volz still sports male genitalia.
Volz and Romero are reportedly two of at least ten transgender inmates at the facility which has been under scrutiny in recent months after decades of “rampant physical and sexual abuse,” according to another report by NJ.com. One such inmate, Demi Minor, was transferred out of the prison in July 2022 after impregnating two female prisoners, NBC News reported.
Miseka Diggs, a female inmate at the prison, told Reduxx her fellow inmates were “scared to death” of the men, telling the outlet that most are not on hormone replacement therapy at the facility. Diggs revealed that most of the women at Edna Mahan have “past trauma” from male violence, and indicated the presence of men in the prison is causing “severe distress” among them. (RELATED: Transgender Rapist Won’t Serve Sentence At Women’s Prison Following Outcry)
New Jersey adopted a policy of housing inmates based on their gender identity rather than the sex assigned to them at birth after a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2021, NBC News reported.
“Anyone incarcerated under NJDOC care may at any time provide information regarding their gender identity to the NJDOC. The Department then takes careful measures to ensure they are properly housed in-line with their gender identity and their housing preferences, while ensuring both their safety and the security of the institution. Overall, the steps being taken support the important cultural changes being made throughout the Department,” Chris Carden, a public information officer for the department of corrections, told NBC News at the time.
