Jail shower reveals man in rape case is a woman

It was not until a 42-year-old prisoner took a shower that surprised jail authorities discovered that they were holding a woman instead of a man on statutory rape charges.

After the shower, Hamilton County Jail authorities determined that the suspect booked as Alexander David Cross was a woman also known as Elaine Ann Cross. The discovery also surprised several prisoners at the jail.

“After about 10 days in jail, they figure out Alex Cross is a female,” Assistant District Attorney Boyd Patterson said in court on Wednesday.

Cross had been in jail awaiting a court appearance yesterday. At the hearing, she pleaded guilty to an aggravated statutory rape charge as part of a deal with prosecutors. The charge stems from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl who believed Cross was a man.

In exchange for the plea, Cross will not serve jail time if she stays out of trouble for six years.

The charges indicate Cross and the teenager had some sort of sexual contact at least three times during June and July 2006.

Patterson said the teenager was “enamoured” with Cross and had considered marriage when she thought Cross was a man.

As part of the plea agreement, Cross must register as a convicted sex offender, have no contact with the teenager and change her gender designation on her driver’s licence to female.