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The activist became an advocate for trans hate crime protections after a violent transphobic home invasion attack.
LGBTQ+ rights activist Kendall Stephens appeared in a Philadelphia court on Monday after she was arrested and charged with the rape of two boys.
Stephens, 37, was charged with rape, corruption of minors, indecent assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, unlawful contact with minors, and other related offenses according to the Philadelphia Gay News.
Stephens was reportedly a family friend of the children, now 14 and 9, and the abuse allegedly occurred over an extended period starting in 2020. She reportedly tried to buy the silence of the older boy by showering him with gifts. The investigation began in September after the Philadelphia Police were contacted by the boys’ grandmother with allegations of the abuse.
Stephens was arrested by police on Monday and held on a $250,000 bond. It was unclear at the time of publication if Stephens had posted bail.
The case is being prosecuted not by the local Philadelphia District Attorney, but by the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General. Pennsylvania law allows for such a practice in the case of a potential conflict of interest. Stephens had worked in the past with District Attorney of Philadelphia Larry Krasner on developing local LGBTQ+ policy.
“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office referred the charges to the Office of Attorney General, and we have accepted the referral,” Brett Hambright, a spokesperson for the state AG Office said in a statement.
Stephens was the victim of a brutal transphobic home invasion assault in 2020.
“This lady comes balling at me like a bull and starts swinging at me, I tried to close my door, front door, and as I’m doing this, she kicks it open and starts attacking me all about the face,” Stephens told local media in 2020.
Stephens reported her assailants called her a transphobic slur and said “you’re a man” and that she “deserved” the beating.
Her attacker, Tymesha Wearing, was given up to 23 months of house arrest at her sentencing in February.
The notorious attack led her to become an activist, arguing in favor of hate crime protections for the trans community.
Stephens is next due in court on December 29.
