The Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was instructed by a federal judge to provide gender transition procedures to a transgender-identifying inmate. But Brian Buckingham doesn’t just identify as trans — he’s a convicted pedophile who abused his own son.

Forty-seven-year-old Buckingham was sentenced to 21 years in prison after creating child sex abuse images and videos of his 10-year-old son. Just before this, he started identifying as a woman and going by the name “Nani Love.” Despite sentencing, Buckingham wanted to pursue so-called “gender-affirming care” and gender transition operations. Without these taxpayer-funded procedures involving hormone therapy, laser hair removal, facial feminization surgery, and voice therapy, he claimed he’d be significantly more depressed and suicidal. The BOP refused, so Buckingham took the matter to court.

His attorneys used the same arguments — namely, that Buckingham had gender dysphoria and that gender transition procedures were “medically necessary.” Denied access to them, they argued, was a violation of Buckingham’s Eighth Amendment rights, which prohibit “cruel and unusual punishments.”

Meanwhile, tracing back to the origins of this spectacle, the true victim of cruel and unusual punishment appears to be Buckingham’s little boy. According to Reduxx, Buckingham’s troubling case began to unravel in February 2020 when Discord, a popular chat service, had been notified of explicit child material on the platform. By April that same year, investigators began zeroing in on Buckingham.

Reduxx reported that “the videos, which were taken on what police described as a covert security camera that had been positioned somewhere in the room, were shared with another Discord user who actively encouraged Buckingham to sexually abuse his child.” The outlet further noted that “conversations between Buckingham and the other Discord user reveal that Buckingham frequently exposed his young son to homosexual and bisexual pornography.”

As the probe continued to unearth details, it became clear that Buckingham had expressed interest in raping and sexually abusing animals and toddlers and had engaged in “sexually exploitative chats with at least one user who identified themselves as being 13.” With a search warrant, Washington State Patrol showed up to Buckingham’s house in early June, where he initially denied any allegations of sexually engaging children — physically or online.

After the Federal Bureau of Investigation got involved, Reduxx explained, “Buckingham was initially indicted on two counts — one of the production of child pornography, and one of the distribution of child pornography. But the indictment was later revised to include three counts of the production of child pornography, one count of the distribution of child pornography, and one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child.” And while the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the process significantly, Buckingham eventually confessed to the crimes in December of 2024.

Despite these egregious crimes involving children, Buckingham’s so-called gender identity quickly became the center of his case. In March of 2025, court documents listed Buckingham’s pronouns as “she/her.” In a lawsuit Buckingham filed in April of 2025, just before his sentencing, he wrote: “My mental health, psychological well-being, and my ability to function have been severely damaged. I am in constant pain. I feel like I am being tortured, and I am very close to killing myself to make it stop. I want an emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction requiring the [Bureau of Prisons] to resume my life-saving, medically necessary [gender dysphoria] treatment and accommodations before I kill myself.”

Buckingham’s request for “gender-affirming care” was initially approved, but the BOP was forced to halt Buckingham’s arrangements after President Donald Trump signed an executive order barring gender transition procedures from being funded by taxpayers and offered to felons.

In September, however, U.S. Magistrate Judge David Christel “recommended” that Buckingham be granted a preliminary injunction that would order the BOP to provide the gender transition procedures. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez then agreed and “gave the Bureau of Prisons 30 days to comply with the mandatory injunction.” The BOP filed an objection on October 8, requesting the case be dismissed while they handle a similar case — Kingdom v. Trump — also involving trans-identifying inmates.

Ultimately, Reduxx concluded, “The court has not yet ruled on the Bureau’s objection, but the preliminary injunction is likely to be reaffirmed. If Buckingham ultimately receives his requested ‘gender affirming’ cosmetic procedures, it could mark one of the first successful challenges by a transgender inmate to the Trump administration’s executive restrictions.”

In a previous comment to The Washington Stand, Amanda Stulman, U.S. director of Keep Prisons Single Sex (KPSS), had warned that the issue of trans-identifying inmates was like an “unending onion.” Even though she was primarily concerned with trans-identifying men occupying space in female facilities, Stuhlman ultimately argued that for this issue not to “get worse,” federal action was required so that it doesn’t. And yet, this recent ruling highlights a troubling judicial trend: prioritizing gender fantasies for convicted child predators over public safety, fiscal responsibility, and the enduring trauma inflicted on innocent victims.

Taxpayers should not subsidize such demands, and the justice system must refocus on protecting society — especially children — rather than entertaining the sexual identities of public offenders.