Andrew Miller, a transgender butcher who goes by Amy George, has been charged with a string of child sex offences in the Scottish courts.
Miller, 53, was initially charged merely with threatening or abusive behaviour alongside abduction, after an incident in which an 11-year-old girl disappeared from the town centre of Galashiels the Scottish Borders, which triggered search including police divers and mountain rescue teams.
Police Scotland claimed the girl was found “safe and well” at a property in the Galashiels area, but Miller has now been charged with the sexual assault of a young child, sexual exposure, causing a young child to look at a sexual image, and possession of indecent images of children, according to a Sky News report, suggesting the incident may have been much more serious than was originally suggested.
Miller has also been charged with attempting to defeat the ends of justice, although the circumstances in which he is alleged to have done so are unclear.
The authorities have not been especially forthcoming about the case in general, with the transwoman’s first court appearance having been held in private.
The former owner of the well-known Millers of Melrose butcher’s shop, Miller has been described by both Police Scotland and the Scottish press as a “man” — a somewhat unusual departure from what has become standard practice in recent years, with trans criminals generally having their gender identity accepted at face value.
Miller was a known supporter of the controversial gender self-ID legislation Scotland’s departing left-separatist leader, Nicola Sturgeon, attempted to pass through the Scottish Parliament, before the British central government stepped in to block it.
Miller is being held in custody while his case progresses — as of the time of publication he has issued no pleas — and the date of his next court appearance was unconfirmed as of the time of publication.