A TRANS woman who sexually abused children in a seaside caravan has been sent to a woman's prison for two decades despite not having a gender recognition certificate.

The jury at Lewes Crown Court took 17.5 hours to find Sally Dixon, 58, guilty on 30 counts of indecent assault or indecency with a child.

Dixon will serve 20 years in prison for crimes, which all took place before the year 2000.

The youngest of Dixon’s victims was just seven years old at the time.

Ryan Richter for the Crown described a campaign of offending against two boys and five girls.

“The defendant, living as a man in the late 80s and 90s, was a brazen and callous sexual predator,” he told the court.

“He exploited young males and cultivated a toxic relationship with female children who he systematically abused throughout their childhoods.”

His Honour Judge Mark Van Der Zwart told Dixon she had committed appalling sexual offences against seven children when she was a man.

The Argus: Sally Dixon. Picture: Eddie MitchellSally Dixon. Picture: Eddie Mitchell (Image: Eddie Mitchell)

Sally Anne Dixon was born John Stephen Dixon in 1963. Dixon was jailed for six months in 1997 for the sexual abuse of a teenage boy, and transitioned in 2004.

Sussex Police reopened their investigation into his earlier offending in 2019 following a new complaint from another victim.

One woman said her childhood abuse left her feeling constant anxiety.

“I was hoping he would do the right thing for once and not put me through the trial, but he didn’t,” she said.

“He is a coward who did not give evidence. He was happy to put us through it but not himself.”

Dixon lived in Crawley and Bexhill where he worked repairing televisions and as a DJ at bars, clubs and a caravan park.

He abused the children at a lock-up garage and in a caravan on the south coast.

Dixon was given consecutive nine year custodial sentences with two one-year extended licences, and will serve at least 12 years in custody before becoming eligible for parole.

Dixon, who did not have a gender recognition certificate, will serve 20 years in a women’s prison for crimes between 1989 and 1996. The certificate is required for trans people to change their birth certificate.

She was sent to HMP Bronzefield to serve the sentence.