EXCLUSIVE: Pedophilic Pimp Serving Life Sentence for Rape and Murder Now Identifying as Transgender in California Prison

A registered sex offender serving a life sentence in California for the rape and murder of an aspiring model now claims to be “transgender” and refers to himself using feminine pronouns “she” and “her”. David Rademaker, convicted in 2006 of the grisly slaying of a 20-year old woman, has filed a lawsuit accusing prison staff of “deliberate indifference” to his “serious mental health needs,” and is seeking a private cell.

In February 1992, Rademaker, then 28, lured aspiring model Kimberly Pandelios into the Angeles National Forest, having posed as a professional photographer and promising her an opportunity for a modeling opportunity. Instead, he made sexual advances towards her, which she refused. He then handcuffed her, anally raped her, and drowned her in a nearby creek.

On March 3 the following year, two hikers discovered portions of her remains in the forest in the Monte Cristo campground area – her skull, jawbone, and pelvic bone. The hikers notified the authorities, who noted that the location was in close proximity to where an officer had discovered Pandelios’ car on fire the night of her death. Nearby the remains, investigators discovered Pandelios’ bra, stockings, and underwear, all of which had been cut with a sharp object, and a pair of handcuffs.

That evening, Los Angeles deputy sheriff Candace Dean spotted Pandelios’ vacant car parked by the Angeles Crest highway. Later that evening, Rademaker returned to the scene with a 14 year-old girl, identified in records only as “C.H.,” with whom he was having a sexual relationship. The deputy watched as Rademaker dowsed the vehicle in charcoal lighter fluid and set it ablaze. A second deputy sheriff, Richard Ellis, noticed the fire, and reported the incident.

Booking photograph of David Rademaker provided by California Department of Corrections

But her murder would remain a mystery for over twelve years, until in 2004, evidence surfaced linking Rademaker to Pandelios’ death. At the time of his arrest, Rademaker was a registered sex offender who had been preying on young girls. In January that year, just after Rademaker had been released from prison for unrelated crimes, the cold case unit began again looking into the unsolved murder. Investigators learned that Rademaker had made a disturbing confession to another 14-year-old girl, named only as “M.K.,” who had been in a sexual relationship with him after the two had met over a phone chat line he advertised in papers as “The Zoo.”

Rademaker had been grooming the girl over the phone before they met in person. He then began sexually abusing her over a period of two years. According to court documents, they “engaged in frequent sex.” Rademaker told the young girl “he preferred anal sex” and he would often handcuff her during the sexual encounters. Within weeks of their first meetup, Rademaker introduced M.K. to drugs, having her sniff nitrous oxide and ammo nitrate, which he would put on a cloth and have her inhale. By the time she was 15, Rademaker had forced her into using heroin and she became addicted.

Rademaker also drove M.K. to the scene of Pandelios’ murder, where he boasted to her about sodomizing and drowning “a blonde model that he met through a personal ad.”

He told M.K. that Pandelios had pleaded for her life, and to be allowed to go home to her infant son, just before he drowned her. Rademaker bragged to M.K. about the crime having been featured on popular TV show Unsolved Mysteries.

M.K.’s parents discovered the relationship when she was 16, and had a restraining order placed against Rademaker. He was convicted on drug and sex offense charges. He was sentenced to 12 years in a state prison. It was during this trial that M.K. told investigators about Rademaker’s confession.

Police also contacted C.H., who had similarly been involved in a sexually abusive relationship with Rademaker as a teen. Like M.K., C.H. met Rademaker through a phone chat line, and by the age of 15, he had her working int he office of his phone sex business. Rademaker would also handcuff her while raping her. C.H. agreed to cooperate with law enforcement, and during a secretly recorded confession, Rademaker confessed to setting Pandelios’ car on fire. Law enforcement arrested and Rademaker for the murder of Pandelios.

Kimberly Pandelios.

In 2006, a jury found Rademaker guilty of murder, with a special circumstances: murder committed in the commission of kidnapping. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The jury, which consisted of eight men and four women, declined to apply the death penalty, despite the fact that Rademaker’s charges would have allowed a capital punishment to be enforced.

During court proceedings, a former friend of Rademaker’s, Richard Albertini, provided testimony stating that Rademaker was involved in a prostitution racket. The convicted killer would place advertisements in LA Express featuring nearly nude women alongside a phone number. A potential customer would leave a voice message, and Rademaker would call the john back using a router to prevent his phone number from being traced. He would then arrange a meetup between the man and the prostituted woman.

Now, Rademaker is claiming to be a transgender woman and has filed a lawsuit seeking special accommodations. In a February 2026 complaint, Rademaker claims that after he was transferred to California Medical Facility (CMF) on June 23, 2023, he was denied single cell accommodations that he says he enjoyed for 25 years in state and county custody “due to her [sic] mental health issues and gender status.”

Rademaker argues that since 2024, he has been denied mental health services, and says that he was involved in a physical altercation with a cellmate as a result of not being permitted to undergo the treatment. He states in the complaint that he believes he is at a “high risk of sexual assault due to her [sic] transgender status,” and that trauma from sexual abuse suffered as a child causes him to lash out violently. He is demanding the court order the CMF to provide mental health treatment and to place him in a single cell.

Curiously, Rademaker has a history of lodging legal complaints against corrections officials. He appealed his conviction numerous time, for instance, and while incarcerated has filed several civil rights complaints alleging “deliberate indifference.” In one case, he argued that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) had exposed him to an “excessive risk to his safety from slippery shower floors.”

For having slipped while taking a shower in 2009, Rademaker sought incredible sums in damages: $200,000 in punitive damages, and $500,000 in compensation from five prison officials.

In another case, Rademaker filed a civil rights complaint alleging religious discrimination. Prison officials at Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) violated his rights, he claimed, “when they refused to allow him to fully practice his Jewish faith” by serving him a Kosher meal plan which included “food items not in conformity with Jewish faith.” This, Rademaker said, was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

In a handwritten complaint filed March 2026, Rademaker cites several incidents in which he had filed Health Care Services requests and was denied.

“On or about March 21, 2024, Plaintiff sent a 7362 Sick Call Request to CMF Senior Supervisor… Nothing! Straight, nontransgender inmates would be responded to… [Officials are] treating me different being transgender!” the complaint states.

In his claim for relief, Rademaker demands compensation of $500,000 from each of the total of 21 defendants he has named in the complaint, or a sum of $10.5 million, and a trial by jury.

If Rademaker, who does not appear to have changed his first name of David to a feminine name, persists in arguing that he is transgender, there is a possibility he may qualify for a transfer to a women’s prison, despite his history of serial sexual abuse.

California is one of the most lenient US states in regards to the transfer of violent male offenders to women’s correctional facilities.

One trans-identified male currently being detained at the California Institution for Women (CIW) was convicted of brutally murdering his wife. Kier Anderson was 41 years old and a self-described “bisexual cross-dresser” when he was convicted in 2009 of strangling his wife after she attempted to leave the relationship.

In an attempt to prevent her from leaving him, Anderson attempted suicide. A note written by him at the time read: “all men are bad on some level and… they all hurt women… But at least the feminine aspect can be generous, nurturing and kind… Please cut me down gently and lay me to rest in pink frosted lipstick. I want to look innocent. I’m not ashamed of wanting to be a girl. I am ashamed of being a man. I’m sorry I was such a terrible, cruel man. I hope Jennifer will find a good man. She deserves better than the likes of me. I’m sorry I hurt you, Sweetie.”

He signed the suicide note, “Kier (who hated being a man.)”

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