A Minnesota male prison inmate who identifies as a “transgender woman” recently received breast implants while incarcerated at the Stillwater prison, sources say, but the state won’t say who footed the bill.
“We are unable to confirm any of the information that you seek,” the Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) said in a statement regarding who paid for the “top surgery.”
The inmate, Marco Quinton Hanlon, is currently serving time at Stillwater Correctional Facility for a felony offense of first-degree criminal sexual conduct for molesting his five-year old cousin.
“Taxpayer tits,” Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, said in a X post regarding the information.
Taxpayer Tits https://t.co/tB6jiwvd1d
— 🇺🇸Mary🇺🇸 (@RepMaryFranson) May 8, 2025
Hanlon, in December 2023, also filed a petition to change his name and sex on his birth record. The request was eventually denied but Hanlon is appealing. Court documents state that he wanted to have his name changed to Alexia Lynn Valenteena.
He also asked that, if granted, his prior birth certificate and any information about his actual sex and given name be kept confidential and that the replacement birth record not have any reference to his original information.
In an affidavit, Hanlon wrote that he was seeking the name change “for purposes of gender affirming from male to female.”
“The State objects to Petitioner’s application on the basis that it will compromise public safety,” the Saint Louis County Attorney’s Office wrote in response to Hanlon’s name change request. The letter stated that due to the nature of the sexual offenses, Hanlon will be required to register as a predatory offender and that a name change would “limit awareness of and hinder the community’s ability to access Petitioner’s criminal history.”
In motions following the county attorney’s letter, Hanlon’s attorneys referred to him as female, using female pronouns.
“Ms. Marco Quinton Hanlon (‘Ms. Hanlon’), is a transgender woman currently housed at the men’s Minnesota Correctional Facility in Stillwater, Minnesota,” a memorandum stated. “She has requested this Court allow her to change her legal name from Marco Quinton Hanlon to Alexia Lynn Valenteena, in order to allow her to live as her authentic self in line with her gender identity.”
The memorandum from last May also stated that Hanlon had been receiving hormone therapy while incarcerated and alleged that the treatment began prior to his incarceration. It also said that Hanlon was “exploring” surgery options. The memorandum asserted that a name change was his “constitutional right.”
“Ms. Hanlon has publicly and socially identified as a woman for many years,” it continued. “Even before her incarceration, she began hormone therapy and has continued to do so throughout her stay at MCF Faribault and MCF Stillwater. Further, she has met with the appropriate contacts within the prison to make a decision considering a surgical transition.”
However, the court decided against the name change on the basis that it could in fact endanger the public due to the nature of Hanlon’s conviction. “The Court cannot find that Petitioner has met the statutory burden to establish by clear and convincing evidence that public safety will not be compromised by the name change. The Court cannot grant Petitioner’s requested name change.”
Hanlon also sued the DOC and other involved parties in federal court in July 2023, alleging that they were “depriving, continuously the Plaintiff of liberty and potentially life” for not granting special accommodations for his transgender status, including “gender confirming surgery” and transfer to the women’s correctional facility. He later moved to dismiss the lawsuit for unknown reasons.
In June 2023, the DOC announced that it would transfer Christina Lusk, a biological male, to the Shakopee women’s prison, marking the first time the state transferred an inmate to “a facility matching their gender identity.”
As part of that announcement, the DOC said it would assist Lusk “in obtaining surgery if the specialist determines it is necessary.” The agency’s policy on transgender inmates states that requests for “gender-affirming surgical procedures” are “are assessed on a case-by-case basis.”
“The department provides incarcerated people who are transgender, gender diverse, intersex, or nonbinary with appropriate gender-related mental health and medical services throughout their incarceration. The DOC provides medical care in accordance with WPATH standards of care,” the policy says.
Alpha News previously interviewed an inmate and former DOC employee to discuss their concerns with the DOC’s policy.
Hayley Feland
Hayley Feland previously worked as a journalist with The Minnesota Sun, The Wisconsin Daily Star, and The College Fix. She is a Minnesota native with a passion for politics and journalism.
