A transgender pedophile in Illinois is being housed in a women’s prison after being found guilty on multiple counts related to the sexual assault of his two children. Michelle Blessent, born James, is being held at the Logan Correctional Facility in Lincoln, Illinois.
As previously reported by Reduxx, Blessent, 35, was initially arrested in April of 2023 in a file which included five counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13.
But on November 15 of that year, three more charges were applied, including one additional count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13, one count of grooming, and one count of exploitation of a child. In a public notice posted to their official Facebook, the Bloomington Police Department confirmed that the new charges were related to the original victim. During the course of the trial, a second young victim under the age of the 13 was named. Both of the victims are reported to be Blessent’s biological children – a boy and a girl.
At the time of his original arrest in April, a public information officer with the Department admitted that they were treating the arrest as that of a woman because of Blessent’s “gender identity.”
In a statement to local radio station Cities 92.9, Officer Brandt Parsley explained that Blessent’s arrest marked “uncharted territory for the police department.” He did confirm that Blessent had legally changed his name to Michelle, as evidenced by McLean County Circuit Clerk documents reviewed by Reduxx. According to the records, Blessent applied to change his name in July of 2022 and successfully completed the process in December.
Following the initial release of Blessent’s mugshot, many members of the community expressed confusion because the police had described Blessent as “female.” On Facebook, many took to the Bloomington Police Department’s comments to note that Blessent was male, and that describing him as a “woman” was inaccurate.
As a result, some trans activists defended Blessent in the comments, condemning the Bloomington Police Department for not censoring “transphobic” remarks on their press release.
On June 26, Blessent was sentenced to 42 years for each of two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13, as well as three years for a count of grooming. The sentences will run consecutively, totaling 87 years. Under Illinois law, Blessent must serve at least 85% of the time for the counts of sexual assault, meaning he will not be eligible for parole until 2095, at which point he would be 106 years of age.
Bodycam footage was released of Blessent’s arrest two weeks ago, showing the man being approached by police officers at his home. in the video, Blessent is seen wearing a short floral dress, and officers refer to him using feminine pronouns. According to Police Insider, Blessent told police he could not have sexually assaulted the children because estrogen made it difficult for him to maintain an erection.
But disturbingly, Blessent is being housed in a women’s prison.
Despite legally being male, and having an accurate sex marker in the Illinois Offender Directory, Blessent has been sent to the Logan Correctional Center for Women in Lincoln.
But Blessent is not the only trans-identified male who has been sent to Logan.
In 2019, the Illinois Department of Corrections approved the transfer of a transgender inmate from an all-male prison to a women’s prison after he claimed he’d been the victim of sexual harassment and abuse. Janiah Monroe, born Andre Patterson, had successfully obtained transfer with the assistance of various trans activists and law firms, while claiming he had been struggling with PTSD from his initial placement in a men’s prison.
Monroe, who had convictions on several felonies including second-degree murder, was later accused of raping a female inmate at Logan, sexually harassing female inmates, and threatening staff members.
Though the IDOC attempted to move him back to the men’s estate, Governor Pritzker’s office overruled the decision and allowed him to remain at the women’s prison. Pritzker is known for being an ardent supporter of trans activism, and is the brother of Jennifer Pritzker, a trans-identified male billionaire who frequently funds trans causes.
Monroe has a projected discharge date of March 2054.
A third trans-identified male who was briefly incarcerated at Logan, Strawberry Hampton, was released in 2019. Hampton, who was serving a sentence for burglary, sued the IDOC alleging discrimination and abuse while he was in custody. A federal judge later ordered IDOC staff to undergo extensive training on transgender issues.
