Is it a crime to call a male paedophile a man?

‘This is a man, committing sexual offences against children.’ This bald statement of fact on Twitter – about a recently convicted male paedophile – is, according to Sussex Police, a potentially criminal statement of hatred.

The paedophile in question is Sally Ann Dixon, born John Stephen Dixon. He was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison earlier this month, after he was found guilty of 30 sexual offences against seven children in the 1980s and 1990s.

For the past 18 years, since committing the offences, Dixon has identified as a woman. And so the police and the court system have fallen over backwards to affirm his gender identity. Despite having ample opportunity to do so, Dixon has never legally changed his gender by obtaining a gender-recognition certificate. Yet he will still be sent to a women’s prison. And Sussex Police, which arrested and charged him, are policing social media for anyone who questions his gender expression.

‘Sussex Police do not tolerate any hateful comments towards their gender identity regardless of crimes committed. This is irrelevant to the crime that has been committed and investigated’, tweeted Sussex Police earlier today, at a gender-critical Twitter user who had dared to call this convicted male paedophile a man. The cops then referred the user to guidance on ‘hate crime’, to educate her on where she can and cannot legally express her supposedly ‘hateful’ views. This was a less-than-subtle hint that telling the truth about this paedophile could be a criminal act.

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