EXCLUSIVEHorrific ordeal of female inmate who says she was raped in prison by bearded, 6'2" trans cellmate who then perversely claimed to be the victim
- 'Rebecca' says she was abused by cellmate Tremaine Carroll
- The 51-year-old denies the charges but has been moved back to a men's prison
- READ MORE: 'Male detainees fake transitions to get moved to women's jails'
Housed in a women's prison, Rebecca could have reasonably expected that she wouldn't share a cell with her alleged future rapist.
But, days after moving cells following an argument with other prisoners, Rebecca says she fell victim to a 'fully penetrative' assault in the showers — at the hands of her new cellmate, a self-identified transgender inmate.
The alleged attack has left her with crippling trauma and unable to shower for days at a time. Basic hygiene is now a 'trigger' that brings the horror of her ordeal flooding back.
DailyMail.com can now exclusively reveal the shocking details of this alleged sexual assault at Central California Women's Facility (CCWF) in Chowchilla, some 150 miles southeast of San Francisco.
We have changed Rebecca's name to safeguard her true identity.
![Rebecca says she was raped by Tremaine Carroll, 51, one of the first male prisoners to apply to transfer to a women's lockup under California's progressive transgender detainee law.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/19/85162665-13443635-image-a-33_1716489703217.jpg)
Rebecca says she was raped by Tremaine Carroll, 51, one of the first male prisoners to apply to transfer to a women's lockup under California's progressive transgender detainee law.
![Carroll now stands accused of two rapes - the alleged attack on Rebecca and another unrelated assault on an unidentified person around the same time. (Pictured: Stock image of female prisoner).](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/19/85215585-13443635-image-a-32_1716489542038.jpg)
Carroll now stands accused of two rapes - the alleged attack on Rebecca and another unrelated assault on an unidentified person around the same time. (Pictured: Stock image of female prisoner).
In January 2024, Rebecca, who is in her thirties and just over five-feet tall, was serving a short sentence for a burglary.
Sources close to her case say that after she asked prison authorities to change her cell, she opted to room with two fellow female prisoners and a self-identified transgender inmate, named Tremaine Carroll.
As a juvenile, Carroll was charged with theft and firearm possession offenses in 1988 and 1989, according to court documents.
In 1990, as an adult, Carroll was arrested for involvement in the gunpoint kidnapping, robbery and sexual assault of two women.
Carroll was charged with three counts of 'oral copulation,' the act of forcing a victim to perform oral sex, though these counts were eventually dropped.
Carroll pled guilty to only two counts of kidnapping and was sentenced to 10 years and 8 months in prison.
After his release, Carroll — then age 25 — offended again in 1998 and was arrested and convicted for the robbery of a jewelry store.
That crime activated California's 'Three Strikes and You're Out' law, which mandates further penalties for offenders with three serious felony convictions.
Carroll was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years to life and has been locked up ever since.
Now, at 51 years old, 6ft 2in tall and about 200lbs, Carroll is physically imposing.
In mugshot photos, Carroll sports thick black and grey stumble and self-identifies as a trans woman, though has not undergone sex reassignment surgery.
That is not a prerequisite for male inmates to transfer to all-female facilities in California.
On September 29, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed The Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act to allow incarcerated transgender, non-binary and intersex people to request to be housed in a 'manner consistent with their gender identity.'
To apply for transfer, inmates must only profess their identity — and obtain the permission of prison authorities.
![Rebecca says she was raped in the showers at Central California Women's Facility. Now, showering makes her relive the horror of the attack.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/19/85264341-13443635-Rebecca_was_raped_in_the_showers_she_says_Now_showering_makes_he-m-38_1716490371344.jpg)
Rebecca says she was raped in the showers at Central California Women's Facility. Now, showering makes her relive the horror of the attack.
![CCWF's sprawling complex in Chowchilla has been dogged by claims of sexual violence in its cells for years.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/19/85215577-13443635-The_sprawling_Central_California_Women_s_Facility_CCWF_in_Chowch-m-31_1716489524466.jpg)
CCWF's sprawling complex in Chowchilla has been dogged by claims of sexual violence in its cells for years.
![California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the transgender prison bill into law in September 2020.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/19/84672325-13443635-California_s_Democratic_Gov_Gavin_Newsom_signed_the_transgender_-a-39_1716490727014.jpg)
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom signed the transgender prison bill into law in September 2020.
In August 2021, Carroll was moved to CCWF after numerous complaints, including claims of harassment by other detainees and allegedly being the victim of more than 30 sexual assaults.
Once inside CCWF, Carroll became something of a 'poster child' for the state's transgender inmate programs.
Writing for an obscure news website in 2022, Carroll described being a 'trans woman' with a 'girl's heart and a confused mind.'
Women's rights lawyer Lauren Bone, who opposes the Transgender Respect Act, told DailyMail.com that Carroll even made a statement refuting the claims of her clients — female CCWF inmates who said they were victimized by trans prisoners.
In testimony collected by the American Civil Liberties Union, a staunch supporter of California's trans inmate policy, Carroll claimed not to be a threat to women.
'I know what it feels like to live in fear and to carry the weight of the past abuse by men,' Carroll wrote. 'We're all in the same boat.'
Rebecca begs to differ.
She now reveals Carroll began expressing sexual interest in her immediately after moving cells, according to sources.
Carroll allegedly left her flirtatious notes. On the second day in the room, Rebecca claimed that Carroll propositioned her.
She said she turned down all the advances.
But, less than 24 hours later, Rebecca claimed Carroll attacked her when she was alone in the prison shower and raped her.
![Detainees and staff at CCWF celebrated a 'day of action' for trans prisoners in January.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/23/20/85161655-13443635-Detainees_and_staff_in_January_celebrated_a_day_of_action_for_tr-m-1_1716493892641.jpg)
Detainees and staff at CCWF celebrated a 'day of action' for trans prisoners in January.
Sources told DailyMail.com that Rebecca was then hospitalized and, humiliatingly, kept in arm and leg chains as she was subjected to a pelvic exam.
Upon her release from the hospital, Rebecca was segregated from the prison population, strip-searched and treated as if she were the predator because — reprehensibly — Carroll had alleged that she was the rapist instead.
Rebecca was said to have screamed and cried throughout the ordeal.
The ridiculous nature of Carroll's counter-allegation has now been made apparent by the official filing of sexual assault charges against Carroll by the Madera County California District Attorney's office.
Sally Moreno, the District Attorney leading the alleged rape case against Carroll said the new allegations cast doubt on the decision to greenlight the transfer to CCWF.
Asked if the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) should review its procedures, the DA said: 'I certainly hope so.'
Carroll now stands accused of two rapes — the alleged attack on Rebecca and another unrelated assault on an unidentified person around the same time.
Carroll also faces one charge of attempting to intimidate a witness to one of the attacks.
Carroll has denied all the charges — but has been transferred out of CCWF to Kern Valley State Prison, an all-male lockup, according to prison records.
The CDCR declined to comment on Carroll's case, but a spokeswoman told DailyMail.com that transgender inmates who 'present a safety and management concern' are not allowed to transfer facilities.
Women's rights advocates said these allegations are a wake-up call to the California prison system, which has moved more than 44 biological male prisoners into all-female facilities since 2021.
Nearly 200 more applications for transfer are now under review.
According to a lawsuit filed by the Women's Liberation Front (Wolf), a liberal feminist advocacy group, CCWF installed condom-dispensing machines after the law's passage.
Whistleblowers have also come forward.
Former California state prison guard, Hector Bravo Ferrel, worked at Diego Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility, a high-security men's penitentiary near San Diego.
He said that after the 2020 law passed 'predatory' inmates were 'champing at the bit' to fake sex changes and request transfers.