A popular transgender TikToker in Australia who previously had gained thousands of followers as a “proud trans woman” has pleaded guilty to aggravated counts of producing and possessing child exploitation material, gross indecency and indecent assault. The South Australia District Court heard that Rachel Queen Burton repeatedly abused two children, and then stalked them and their family into homelessness, before he began claiming to be a “woman.”
Burton was first arrested in October of 2022 by the elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team and charged with child abuse and exploitation offenses. In December that year, Burton had denied the allegations, but he has now pleaded guilty. Though Burton is from Coolalinga in the Northern Territory, the crimes were committed in the Southern state.
During recent court proceedings, both the children and their mother strongly condemned Burton in their victim impact statements.
“You are a gross, phony, self-indulgent thing who has cheated my children out of so much, and took it away from them without care,” the victims’ mother said.
“In your online rants, you showed no remorse for your bad behavior, all while knowing what you had done … getting an audience for your false life was far more important. You can wear any mask you like, but the truth is out and everybody knows who you really are, finally.”
The victims’ mother described how, after she discovered Burton’s abuse, she fled the area with her children, only to be followed by the sexual predator. She told the court that at one point, she and her children were residing in a police-issued safe house until Burton “showed up at the window, peering in,” causing them to flee again.
“No food, scared children, too scared to go anywhere, never knowing if you could find us … when the children did sleep, nightmares haunted them,” she said. “Being homeless was extremely grueling, the worrying was relentless, but you were online having the time of your life… We were all betrayed, tricked and lied to. You are the monster, you make me feel sick to my stomach.”
The youngest victim, whose age has not been disclosed, told the court that Burton’s abused had made her feel “like a bird trapped in a cage.”
“I was happy before you broke the rules, I didn’t know what was going on at the time, I feel angry at you for doing the wrong thing to me,” she said. “I felt like a bird trapped in a cage, all I wanted was to be free … I still worry that you will find me.”
The second victim, a boy, said he was constantly “terrified” and that he had difficulty sleeping due to chronic nightmares. “I’m always worried you are going to turn up somewhere, and this makes me feel terrified,” he said.
Burton’s case was first reported by The Advertiser, which referred to Burton as a “woman” and utilized feminine pronouns for him.
Burton was best known for his popular TikTok account, which had over 36,000 followers and boasted 418,000 ‘likes.’ On his profile, he describes himself as a “proud trans woman” who is “living my best life with no regrets.”
@rachel.queen8008 if your the one I will all ways love you #fyp #dance #love #friends #duet ♬ I Will Always Love You – Whitney Houston
In January 2022, Burton posted a video announcing he had been on hormone replacement therapy for 1 month and providing his viewers an update on his physical health.
“I [thought] I was supposed to get moody. But I haven’t been moody since starting the testosterone blockers … I got a little bitchy — just a little bitchy, that was when I was straight on the estrogen,” Burton explains, “I still cry. I still cry heaps. I’m still an emotional wreck. But it’s a nice emotion.”
Burton, who is currently being held in a correctional facility for men, has been remanded in custody awaiting further sentencing submissions in April.
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