A Limerick prison officer told a court on Wednesday that she was “terrified” when transgender female prisoner Barbie Kardashian told her she would “rape” her with an “implement”.
Roisín Linnane told Barbie Kardashian's trial that she “feared” for her safety after the accused allegedly issued the threat while she was an inmate on a landing at Limerick Prison which was being supervised by Officer Linnane.
“Overall I was shocked, terrified and feared for my safety. I never feared a prisoner before, but in this case I feared for my safety, and feared about the (prisoner’s) release date,” Ms Linnane told Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Barbie Kardashian, (22), of no fixed abode, who it was heard was born a male, but now identifies as a female, denies three counts of making threats to kill or cause serious harm to Ms Linnane on dates in April and June 2023.
Ms Kardashian also denies a fourth count, of making a threat to kill or cause serious harm to Tegan McGhee, who was a fellow inmate at Limerick Prison, on February 25th, 2023.
Ms Linnane, who has worked at Limerick Prison for the past seven years, gave direct evidence that Barbie Kardashian issued a number of threats to rape and sexual assault her on April 25th, June 9th, and June 11th, 2023.
Ms Linnane alleged the first threats were issued after she had asked Barbie Kardashian if she had cleaned a shower after using it, and that the accused sat “in defiance” on a chair near the shower.
Ms Linnane said when she asked the accused a second time if she had cleaned the shower, Barbie Kardashian replied: “I will sexually assault and molest you."
The witness alleged that, on another occasion, when she asked Barbie Kardashian to stop shouting profanities through her cell door at a fellow inmate, Tegan McGhee, the accused told her: “I haven’t forgotten you. I will rape you and molest you”.
During Ms Kardashian’s barrister’s cross examination of Ms Linnane, a video recording of CCTV footage showing Ms Linnane, another prisoner officer, and two female prisoners in a corridor at the prison, was played in court.
“That is the incident when she (the accused) said ‘I haven’t forgotten you’,” Ms Linnane told Ms Kardashian’s barrister Andrew Sexton.
Ms Linnane had earlier became visibly upset in the witness box while she was giving evidence of another alleged threat by Ms Kardashian who was returning to her cell with food in which “she said that she would put her hands between my legs and rape me with an implement”.
Mr Sexton asked Ms Linnane, “and where is that (video) footage?”, to which Ms Linnane replied, “that’s above my pay grade, I do not have access to CCTV footage at the Irish Prison Service, I have zero access”.
On Tuesday, Limerick Prison officer Aiden O’Meara gave evidence that he heard Barbie Kardashian threaten to rape and kill Tegan McGhee at the prison, on February 25th, 2023.
“She (Barbie Kardashian) threatened to kill her (Tegan McGhee), and she threatened to rape her with an implement and leave her in such a way that she could not have children,” Officer O’Meara alleged.
“I have no doubt that the threat was made with malice and forethought,” he added.
Ms McGhee told the court she had complained about Ms Kardashian in respect of dirty showers on the female prisoners prison landing.
“Barbie said, ‘I’m going to rape you, so you can’t have any more children’. I was kind of in shock, and I pressed the emergency button in my cell for the officer to come to the door,” Ms McGhee alleged.
“I know her (Barbie’s) voice, she was the person who said it, it’s not really an Irish accent, it’s a sort of American accent, not Irish.”
“I was extremely shocked and upset and disgusted that someone could say something like that.”
Under cross examination from Mr Sexton, instructed by Yvonne Quinn, BL, and solicitor Julianne Kiely, Ms McGhee agreed she had never actually met, seen nor spoken to Barbie Kardashian prior to their alleged exchange on the day.
Class Prison Officer, Catherine Halley, who had a senior supervisory role on the female prisoners landing at the time, said she heard the accused tell Ms McGhee, ‘if I get my hands on you I will rape you with an implement and you will not be able to have kids again’.
On Monday, prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan told the jury that Ms Kardashian was born a male named “Gabrielle Alejandro Gentile, to Venezuelan parents in Co Meath” and currently identifies “as a female”.
Mr O’Sullivan said that in 2020 the accused changed his name to Barbie Kardashian by deed-poll “and successfully applied for a gender recognition certificate, and changed from male to female on the 18th of August, 2020.”
The trial continues before a jury of seven women and five men.
