Prominent trans activist Kendall Stephens arrested, charged with rape of 2 young boys in Philadelphia

An LGBTQ+ activist was arrested in Philadelphia on Monday and charged with the rape of two young boys. Trans-identified male Kendall Stephens, who was referred to in the local news as "she," was alleged to have raped two boys under the age of 13.

Stephens was charged with indecent assault of a person under 13, rape, unlawful contact with minor sexual offenses, and endangering the welfare of children - parent or guardian, ABC reports. Stephens bail has been set at $250,000 and Stephens will make a court appearance on December 29. The investigation is not being led by the district attorney's office but by another agency.

Stephens' activism began in 2020 after being attacked in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia. This attack took place in Stephens' home which Stephens shared with two godchildren, both teen girls. Stephens posts photos with children identified as her nephews on Instagram. 

Stephens claimed the attack was due to Stephens trans identity. After that attack, Stephens began to advocate for LGBTQ+ identities to be protected under Pennsylvania's hate crime laws.

Stephens efforts were supported by DA Larry Krasner, and Stephens was part of a press conference given about the alleged "uptick in hate crimes against the transgender community" in March 2021. This press conference also launched Krasner's LGBTQ+ Advisory Board for victims and crime survivors.

"What's sad is that I am a productive member of the community," Stephens said at the press conference. "I am a student. I am a godmother. I am a neighbor, and for someone to just judge me and hate me for living in the fullness of my truth."

After Tymesha Wearing, 36, was arrested and sentenced to 18 months for the attack, Krasner spoke out on behalf of Stephens. 


Tymesha Wearing

"Nearly three years ago, Kendall Stephens endured a frightening crime that was intended to demean and silence her," Krasner said. "Instead, Ms. Stephens continues to speak out loudly on behalf of other queer victims of violent crime — all while pursuing graduate studies. This criminal case is now closed, but Ms. Stephens will never stop fighting for the respect, support and protections that queer people deserve in order to live safely, freely and joyfully." 

Stephens was part of many events where Stephens was celebrated for being a survivor of a transphobic attack. 








Stephens was invited to speak to local news affiliate Fox 29 after activist Josh Kruger was killed in his home. The suspect in that killing later claimed to have been molested by Kruger when he was a young boy. Stephens said Kruger's death was "a tremendous loss" to the community. The news anchors thanked Stephens for Stephens' advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was joined by Stephens on the campaign trail as he ran for office.

Stephens posted a selfie video of dancing in the aisles of a dollar store.

Another video shows Stephens dancing on stage at the Human Rights Campaign gala.

In speaking about the Point Breeze attack, Stephens told the Human Rights Campaign "Living as a trans woman has its ups and downs, though what is troubling is that we have been disallowed to live an honest manifestation of our truth by intolerable transphobic individuals. Our personal journey into our gender expressions should be a celebratory experience, especially for a trans woman of color, but it is often anything but that."