Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon found himself embroiled in controversy surrounding the sentencing of child molester Hannah Tubbs after he was forced to change his stance on the punishment given to the accused.
Tubbs, 26-year-old trans woman, was sentenced to two years in a juvenile facility after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in a Palmdale restaurant bathroom. The incident took place in 2014, when Tubbs was 17.
Tubbs Mocked Victim, Boasted About Not Getting Registered as Sex Offender
The jailhouse phone calls recording obtained by Fox News revealed that Tubbs not only mocked the victim but also made fun of the generous plea deal given to her. As per the outlet, Tubbs boasted about not having registered as a sex offender in one of the calls made to her father.
"I'm gonna plead out to it, plead guilty," Tubbs says in one recording. "They're gonna stick me on probation, and it's gonna be dropped, it's gonna be done, I won't have to register, won't have to do nothing."
"You won't have to register?" her father is heard asking Tubbs. "I won't have to do none of that," Tubbs replies. "So what are they going to do to you then?" the man asks to which Tubbs laughingly answered, "Nothing."
She then goes on to add, "If there is a next time I ever get in trouble, I'm leaving the state, I'm leaving the country. I ain't staying!"
Tubbs, who was just weeks away from her 18th birthday at the time of the incident, identified herself as a male, named James Tubbs, when she molested the child. The attack took place in a women's restroom at a Danny's in Palmdale, California, in 2014.
Gascon Regretting His Decision?
Gascon's office had refused to transfer the Tubbs case to an adult court following the prosecutor's directive of barring "children" from being tried as adults.
Dubbing Tubbs sentencing as an 'insult' the victim lashed out at Gascon for the manner he handled the case. "The things [Tubbs] did to me and made me do that day were beyond horrible for a 10-year-old girl to have to go through. That man was very clear minded and old enough to know what he did that day was wrong and still did it anyway. It's something I struggle with and it's insulting that this is all he was given as punishment. Ans I want something done about it," said the 18-year-old.
The Daily Mail reported that in a statement related to the policy changes being brought in his office, Gascon spoke about Tubbs sentencing.
"After her sentencing in our case, I became aware of extremely troubling statements she made about her case, the resolution of it and the young girl that she harmed," he said.
"Unfortunately, our juvenile system in its current iteration does not provide adequate support to help someone at 26 with this level of challenges except through the adult system. While for most people several years of jail time is adequate, it may not be for Ms. Tubbs. If we knew about her disregard for the harm she caused we would have handled this case differently," read Gascon's statement.
