A Thai chef operating out of some of Melbourne’s most popular venues has escaped a jail term despite being found guilty of sexual assault after a judge declared that “prison is more onerous for transgender prisoners”.
Thawat Prommachan, 32, grew up as a male in northeast Thailand before moving to Australia at age 22 where she (sic) studied cooking and English, obtained a permanent resident visa and began identifying as female.
In January of 2024, Prommachan contacted a man through the social media app Grindr — used for meet ups between members of the gay and queer community — and asked if he wanted a massage.
The victim declined several times before weeks later agreeing to a therapeutic, nonsexual massage, the Victorian County Court heard.
A jury in December last year found Prommachan not guilty of two charges of rape and guily of two charges of sexual assault. The sexual assault charges carry a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment each.
The victim has since developed post-traumatic stress and has had his sexual functioning severely affected.
Judge Hawkins accepted that “transgender and gender diverse prisoners are particularly vulnerable to harm and abuse in prison due to the heightened risk of sexual or physical assault”.
“It is appropriate to take account of the fact that prison is more onerous for transgender prisoners in determining the appropriate sentence,” she said.
The court heard Prommachan experienced family violence growing up and left school at 17.
At the time of her (sic) offending, Prommachan identified as a “gay man, repressed and only partially and secretly expressing your female identity”.
It was reported last year that a trans inmate was jailed at a Melbourne women’s prison for child sexual assault and that she(sic) was being kept in solitary confinement and away from other inmates.
The offender, given the pseudonym Hilary Maloney, was placed at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre for the 2.5 year sentence after a judge noted she (sic) would face “additional hardship” in custody.