(LifeSiteNews) — A nurse forced out of her job in the U.K. for referring to a transgender-identifying male pedophile as “Mr.” returned to work this week, and she expressed her gratitude to Jesus for the victory in her hard-fought case.
“This has been an incredibly long and painful journey,” said 41-year-old Jennifer Melle. “I want to give thanks, first and foremost, to Jesus, who has sustained me every step of the way. I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has stood with me, prayed for me, and supported me through the darkest moments. Your encouragement has meant more than you will ever know.”
Melle, an NHS nurse and single mother of two, was suspended from her job at St. Helier Hospital in Carshalton, Surrey, in May 2024, after having served dutifully as a nurse for 12 years. In 2024, a transgender-identifying pedophile, referred to as “Patient X,” arrived at the hospital from a prison, chained to guards, needing treatment for a urinary infection.
Melle had to fit him with a catheter and referred to him as “Mr.” The pedophile, a six-foot man with a beard, began screaming a “torrent of racial abuse” along with threats of physical violence at Melle, who is black. The hospital, however, decided that the pedophile was the victim, and placed Melle under investigation, transferring her to another ward. She was given a disciplinary hearing and a written warning in December 2024.
The hospital, however, was apparently worried about its treatment of Melle. “She was then accused of a potential patient data breach by Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust for speaking about the incident—despite the person’s identity remaining unknown,” reported the Daily Mail. The following year, in April 2025, Melle was suspended for nine months while another investigation was conducted, this time of allegedly speaking publicly about what had happened to her.
Fortunately, her case was taken up by others. Over 18,000 people signed a petition in favor of clearing her name and reinstating her at her job. Sandy Fife, a nurse similarly suspended by the NHS for protesting having to share a changeroom with a transgender-identifying man spoke up in her defense. So did a number of MPs, including Rosie Duffield, Jim Shannon, Mims Davies, and Rebbeca Paul. Shadow Equalities Minister Claire Coutinho called her “one of the bravest women I have ever met,” according to the Daily Mail.
“Her case is proof of how the NHS has been captured by a radical gender ideology that puts women at the bottom of the pile,” Coutinho stated. “In being punished for ‘misgendering’ a convicted paedophile, she has been repeatedly failed by her employers and trade unions. She is a dedicated nurse with 13 years of faultless service. The NHS should not be punishing hard-working nurses who know biological sex is real.”
Melle was reinstated in a private “crunch hearing” that the press was not permitted to attend, and she told the Express that while she is “glad to be returning to work, I must be honest: this is not over.” Melle, who is not being supported by her union, the Royal College of Nursing, is still facing “two outstanding Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness-to-practice investigations over ‘misgendering’ the paedophile,” with a full employment tribunal scheduled for April.
“For nearly a year I have been suspended simply for telling the truth: that I was racially abused and physically threatened after using biologically accurate language to refer to a male patient,” said Melle. “I was treated as the criminal.” She is planning to take her case to the employment tribunal on the grounds that she is a victim of harassment, discrimination, and beaches of freedom of religion and thought.
“Jennifer’s reinstatement is welcome, but it is justice delayed and only partially delivered,” said Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre. “The Trust was poised to dismiss a dedicated Christian nurse for the ‘crime’ of telling the truth about the racial abuse and physical threats she suffered at the hands of a convicted paedophile. It took national media pressure, the intervention of an MP, and the weight of public outrage to force them to do the right thing.”
