Transgender given light sentence by Gascon for child molestation now charged in Los Angeles murder

A convicted child molester, whose light sentence several years ago by Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon has contributed to recall attempts, was charged Tuesday with murder in another case.

The defendant, a transgender who now identifies as Hannah Tubbs, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the April 2019 murder of Michael Clark, whose body was found months later in the Kern River that runs near the city of Bakersfield.

Tubbs – who admitted to molesting a 10-year-old girl in a Denny’s restaurant restroom in 2014 when he was 17 – pleaded guilty eight years later after DNA evidence led police to him. 

Tubbs began identifying as a woman and was sentenced to two years in a juvenile facility despite being 26, in a case that sparked fury at Gascon, a Democrat. 

Gascón critics says his policies – including that prosecutors cannot seek a death penalty – have led to an increase in crime in Los Angeles. 

In the murder case, Kern County Superior Court Judge David Zulfa ordered Tubbs held on $1 million bond in a men’s jail.

In the earlier case, Gascon did not prosecute Tubbs, whose birth name is James Edward Tubbs, in adult court as part of his directive that minor offenders be tried in juvenile court, even for serious crimes, according to the Daily Wire.

He argued that since Tubbs was two weeks shy of his 18th birthday when he molested the girl, he belonged in a juvenile facility, though he is now 26. 

Gascón also did not require Tubbs to register as a sex offender, the Daily Wire also reports.

Tubbs’ victim, who was 10 at the time of the attack, told Fox News: "The things he did to me and made me do that day was beyond horrible for a 10-year-old girl to have to go through. I want him tried as an adult for the crimes he committed against me."

Gascon, who is now facing a second recall attempt, said he would re-evaluate his sentencing policies, also according to the Daily Wire.

"While for most people several years of jail time is adequate, it may not be for Ms. Tubbs," he reportedly said. "If we knew about her disregard for the harm she caused, we would have handled this case differently."