Father of ‘Nex’ Benedict is a convicted rapist now identifying as transgender

The Distance Magazine showed that James Everette Hughes, who assaulted Benedict when she was nine, has since changed his legal name to Chloe Elizabeth and is listed as “female” on the national sex offender registry. Hughes served five years for the 2019 conviction and received a 10-year suspended sentence.

Dagny Benedict died last year from a Prozac and Benadryl overdose, according to the coroner’s report. Her death became a national story, with major outlets framing it as a case tied to bullying, gender identity, and Oklahoma’s policies on biological sex. Benedict had identified as non-binary and had complained for months about harassment at Owasso High School.

A day before Benedict’s death, school officials said she was involved in a fight inside the girls’ restroom. Benedict said she poured water on three girls who were mocking her friend, prompting them to attack her. “They came at me,” she told an officer. Her grandmother, Sue Benedict, picked her up from school and later took her to the hospital for evaluation. The school suspended Benedict for two weeks.

The next evening, Benedict collapsed in the living room. Emergency responders were unable to revive her.

Much of the national conversation that followed focused on supposed “transphobia” as the cause. Politicians and activists highlighted the washroom fight and broader political battles over gender policy. But those narratives largely ignored Benedict’s long history of trauma stemming from the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.

Osborne’s reporting also reveals that Hughes was arrested in January 2024 for failing to comply with sex-offender registration rules. Benedict died less than two weeks later. At the time of that arrest, Hughes appeared to be transitioning, with longer hair and softer facial features compared to earlier booking photos.

A more recent image from 2025 shows Hughes, then using the name “James Tsang” with shoulder-length hair, some light makeup, and a clean-shaven face. California lists Hughes as “female” and classifies the offender under that category. Due to state policy, Hughes would likely be housed in a women’s facility if arrested again.

Hughes is not currently behind bars. The investigation into Benedict’s death remains closed, but the newly surfaced information has renewed questions about what factors contributed to the teen’s declining mental health and whether the public was given a full picture of her circumstances.