Caroline Farrow, who is a broadcaster and writer for Roman Catholic newspapers, has been the subject of a five-month police investigation.
Her “crime?” She was accused of calling a transgender woman a “he” on Twitter.
Farrow said she received a phone call from an officer on Monday asking her to attend a voluntary interview.
The 44-year-old said she may have posted the supposed tweet after an appearance on Good Morning Britain last September where she engaged in a debate on transgender children with Susie Green, a transgender campaigner whose daughter Jackie, 25, is transgender.
Saying she was prepared to go to jail, she added: “I don’t know what I am suspected to have done. The only thing I can think of is that I may have referred to a 23-year-old transgender woman as someone’s ‘son.’
“I try at all times to be polite on Twitter, but it is my belief on both a religious and scientific basis that you cannot change the sex into which you were born.”
The officer told Farrow her tweets had “misgendered” someone by using the wrong pronoun. Such an act could be considered an offense under the Malicious Communications Act. Those found guilty could face sentences for as long as two years.
According to the law, it is a crime to send messages that are indecent or grossly offensive, false, or threatening for the purpose of causing someone distress or anxiety.
Farrow, who is married to a priest, felt “worried and alarmed” after the police called her.
Taking to Twitter, she wrote: “I don’t even remember said tweets! I probably said ‘he’ or ‘son’ or something. I have done nothing wrong, nothing illegal and will happily do jail time for my right to say that people cannot change sex.”
The Surrey Police are pursuing the case. In 2015, former Chief Constable Lynne Owens said that because of budget cuts and the loss of 250 officers, minor crimes will not be investigated so they can focus on offenses against vulnerable people.
The police confirmed that they received an allegation over Farrow’s tweets on October 15.
A police spokesman said: “A thorough investigation is being carried out to establish whether any criminal offenses have taken place.
“A 44-year-old woman has been asked to attend a voluntary interview in relation to the allegation as part of our ongoing investigation.
“We have been made aware that a number of allegations have since been made on Twitter and we will be making contact with the person concerned in relation to these posts.”
Jackie Green, who was born Jack, made history in 2012 when she became the first transgender Miss England finalist.
She had always believed she was born in the wrong body, telling her mother Susan when she was four: “God has made a mistake, I should be a girl.”
In the meantime, the Oxford English Dictionary has also announced that they are introducing gender-neutral words as an “attempt to grapple” with the sensitive issue.
Alternative pronouns to him, his, or her include “hir” and “zir” as well as “peoplekind” instead of mankind and “Latin@” for someone of either sex from Latin America.
Recommended Video!
“This Girl’s makeup transformation is Beyond your imagination, AND she is turning into American Celebrities”