A transgender woman who was sentenced to just two years for molesting a 10-year-old girl in a restaurant bathroom in 2014 has now been charged with murder in connection with a robbery three years ago, it was revealed yesterday.
Hannah Tubbs, 26, formerly known as James, pleaded guilty in 2020 to sexually assaulting the young girl in a Denny’s bathroom in 2014, and was also accused of molesting a four-year-old one year prior to that incident.
She was only given a lenient two-year sentence to be served in a juvenile detention center with no obligation to register as a sex offender as a result of progressive LA District Attorney George Gascon’s progressive policies.
But Tubbs is now being held on a $1million bond in Kern County, California, after being charged with second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the death of 22-year-old Michael Clark.
Clark’s body was found washed up in the Kern River in August 2019, after he disappeared months earlier in April.
The criminal complaint — filed by the Kern County District Attorney’s Office — charged Tubbs under her birth name, James Edward Tubbs, and will see the defendant return to court on May 20 for trial after she pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Gascon meanwhile admitted in February that his directive preventing juveniles to be tried in an adult court for serious crimes, meaning Tubbs was not registered as a sex offender, may have been too lenient.
‘After her sentencing in our case, I became aware of extremely troubling statements she made about her case, the resolution of it and the young girl that she harmed,’ the DA, who is facing a recall vote, stated.
‘If we knew about her disregard for the harm she caused, we would have handled this case differently.’
Tubbs showed no remorse for the molestation offense and even bragged to her father about the lax sentence over the jailhouse phone.
Hannah Tubbs, 26, formerly known as James, pleaded guilty in 2020 to sexually assaulting a young girl in a Denny’s bathroom in 2014, and was also accused of molesting a four-year-old one year prior to that incident
CCTV images show Hannah Tubbs, a.k.a. James, entering a Denny’s restaurant in Palmdale, CA, in 2014 where a 10-year-old girl was molested in the bathroom
Tubbs is now being held on a $1million bond in Kern County, California, after being charged with second-degree murder and robbery in connection with the death of 22-year-old Michael Clark. Clark’s body was found washed up in the Kern River (pictured) in August 2019, after he disappeared months earlier in April
Tubbs was two weeks away from turning 18 years old when police said she walked into a women’s bathroom, locked a 10-year-old girl in a stall, grabbed her by the throat, shoved her hand down the child’s pants and proceeded to sexually assault her.
Tubbs only stopped when someone else walked into the restroom.
She got off with a slap-on-the-wrist sentence of just two years in a juvenile facility as per LA DA Gascon’s reforms.
In calls revealed earlier this year, Tubbs openly laughed at her generous plea deal and was heard mocking her 2014 victim from her jailhouse.
She boasted to her father in the November call that she will not have to register as a sex offender, and that ‘nothing’ will be done to punish her for violently assaulting a 10-year-old, according to an audio recording that was obtained by Fox.
‘So now they’re going to put me with other trannies that have seen their cases like mine or with one tranny like me that has a case like mine,’ Tubbs told her father.
‘So when you come to court, make sure you address me as her.’
Tubbs got off with a slap-on-the-wrist sentence of just two years in a juvenile facility for the 2014 assault as per LA District Attorney George Gascon’s reforms, although she was just days from turning 18
Tubbs also reportedly made crude and disparaging comments about the child she had abused, jokingly talking about her sexual attraction for the 10-year-old.
Tubbs’ victim, now aged 18, hit out at Gascon for his handling of the case, which she described as ‘insulting.’
‘The things [Tubbs] did to me and made me do that day were beyond horrible for a 10-year-old girl to have to go through,’ the young woman said, referring to Tubbs as a male.
‘That man was very clear minded and old enough to know what he did that day was wrong and still did it anyway.
‘It’s something I struggle with and it’s insulting that this is all he was given as punishment. And I want something done about it.’
Tubbs has a vast criminal record including arrests in multiple states. She is pictured in some of her old mugshots taken prior to her transition from a man to a woman
DNA entered into a database matched Tubbs with the sexual assault at Denny’s and she was brought back to California in 2019 – by which point she had already been arrested for battery, drug possession and probation violations in several states.
Tubbs was eventually brought to LA in November 2021 where she was sentenced to the two-year stretch in a juvenile detention center.
By this point, Tubbs had transitioned and was known as Hannah rather than James.
LA County Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami, a prosecutor and supporter of the movement to recall Gascon, said earlier this year that Tubbs was too dangerous to be in the juvenile system.
‘This was done with limited guidance and no concerns for public safety,’ Hatami said speaking of California’s system to handle violent juveniles.
‘This clearly shows you the dangerous aspect of the blanket policies of George Gascon,’ he said.
‘Under George Gascon’s ”reforms”, a 26-year-old admitted child molester is being housed with juveniles,’ Hatami said.
‘She may be released early, back into the community, with no sex registration. Only innocent victims and the public suffer because of George Gascon’s so-called progress.
‘This is not somebody who should appear in the juvenile system.’
Tubbs was two weeks away from turning 18 years old when police said she walked into a women’s bathroom, locked a 10-year-old girl in a stall, grabbed her by the throat, shoved her hand down the child’s pants and proceeded to sexually assault her in 2014
Court documents from a 2013 incident show that then 16-year-old Tubbs was also accused of exposing herself and molesting a four-year-old child at a library in Bakersfield
Meanwhile, court documents from a 2013 incident show that then 16-year-old Tubbs was also accused of exposing herself and molesting a four-year-old child, Fox News Digital reported.
The alleged attack happened at a library in Bakersfield, two hours away from Los Angeles, while the child’s mother was browsing books ‘just a few aisles over.’
The young victim told her mother that Tubbs, who was wearing a ripped black shirt and shorts with blonde hair, cornered her near locked bathrooms and proceeded to touched her.
The little girl allegedly escaped while Tubbs tried to retrieve the bathroom keys and returned to her mother ‘crying hysterically’ and pointing at her mouth and private parts.
It is unclear what charges were filed against Tubbs or whether she was convicted, as her records are sealed because she was a minor at the time.