A toddler rapist is being featured on a website dedicated to female inmates, with his quotes prominently displayed despite his well-documented criminal history of child abuse. Xena Grandichelli, born Jeffrey Willsea, is a high-risk sex offender in the state of New York.
As previously reported by Reduxx, Grandichelli pleaded guilty to 11 counts of sexual abuse involving a 3 year-old girl in 1994, and was initially sentenced to 19 to 59 years in prison, dropped to 5 to 15 years at a later hearing. Upon release in 2014, he was assigned to the sex offender registry and categorized at the highest level, designating him a major recidivism risk and an ongoing threat to public safety.
Yet despite his horrific criminal record, Grandichelli became a highly-regarded trans activist and has spoken at top-tier universities since his release from prison.
In 2016, Grandichelli spoke at NYU on the topic of incarceration and trauma, and led a workshop on trans issues for the National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender People of Color Health Conference. The next year, he was a panelist representing “women’s experiences of incarceration” at Columbia University, which houses a gender identity program staffed by at least one member and former president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, Walter Bockting.
Grandichelli has also been presented with an Anti-Violence Project award referring to him as a “Community Hero.”
Notably, he has also partnered with the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) and was designated as a Movement Building Team member. In a letter posted to the SRLP website, Grandichelli describes how team members from the organization actively worked to recruit him while he was still incarcerated for sexually abusing a child.
As of May 2024, Grandichelli is still featured by the Women and Justice Project in a dedicated infographic highlighting “The Incarceration of Trans, Nonbinary & Gender Expansive People,” this is despite a recent wave of media attention surrounding his history of child rape.
The page features quotes and data from a number of trans activists and formerly incarcerated trans-identified males. It argues that “trans, non-binary and gender expansive people, particularly Black, Indigenous and People of Color, and especially Black trans women, are targeted, criminalized, and incarcerated at extremely disproportionate rates.”
On the page, Grandichelli is presented as a “trans activist and community organizer,” and is quoted as saying: “[I] break down crying when trying to explain to somebody what it’s like to be in a state prison or Rikers Island and to be physically beat half to death and raped, and misgendered and abused so much that you’re ready to take your own life.”
Another prominent activist credited with helping on the infographic is the ACLU’s Chase Strangio. Despite frequently portraying trans-identified male inmates as vulnerable, the ACLU is currently representing multiple violent male offenders in their demand to either be transferred to a women’s prison or receive “gender affirming” accessories while incarcerated.
Reduxx reached out to the Women and Justice Project for comment on Grandichelli’s continued inclusion in the infographic, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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