When she was a child, 24-year-old Ceri-Lee Galvin of the United Kingdom was sexually abused for nine years by her father, Clive Bundy, who was convicted and jailed for his crimes in 2016 and is now up for parole. Two years ago Galvin was informed that her father began identifying as a woman named Claire Fox, a change that could "potentially allows sex attackers like her father to cover up their past by adopting a new gender identity," according to the Daily Mail.
Galvin said, "By being allowed to keep his change of identity a secret if he so wishes, my father Clive Bundy is being permitted to divorce himself and his name from the heinous crimes he committed against me."
"I was abused as a child by a man who now identifies as a woman and I only know because he allowed them to tell me. It's just appalling that his right to privacy seems to overrule any rights I have as a victim," Galvin added.
Bundy was sentenced to 15 years in 2016 but is due for parole after serving 7. When Galvin was informed that her father had started identifying as transgender and using a different name, the victim liaison officer told her she was only being informed of the change because her father had given permission for the notification.
"The implication was that if her father had chosen not to tell her of the transition, she would have had no idea that Claire Fox was actually her abuser if the attacker had decided to contact her using the new name," according to the Daily Mail.
Galvin said, "I'm one of eight and for some reason he basically isolated and groomed me from a very young age" and "From eight years old he sexually abused me for nine years."
Bundy was arrested after trading child pornography, including images of his daughter, on the internet. He confessed to sexually abusing Galvin after his arrest and was convicted of several counts of sexual activity with a minor, distributing indecent images, and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
When she first heard of her father identifying as transgender, Galvin said, "My initial reaction was to laugh. I'm not in any way transphobic but it was so unexpected. She said your dad now identifies as 'Claire Fox' and she has given us permission to tell you. So if he hadn't given permission, I still wouldn't know he identifies as a woman and has changed his name by deed poll."
"If any of my family – including my niece – got a message from someone called Claire Fox online we wouldn't have known it was him," Galvin added.
Galvin's father was granted parole and is due for release on May 3, but she can challenge the release before that time.
During her father's last parole hearing, she read an impact statement.
"This September I will be going to university to study and become a paramedic – a dream career which enables me to help others," she said. "This is something I am so passionate about, yet now I am nervous my past is coming back to haunt me. His early release will halt my future and cause me nothing but constant fear, constant worry and make me always watch over my shoulder."
