A court's ruled against a serial paedophile who says a jail punished her for having consensual prisoner relationships

Transgender woman Maxien Stevens, is serving a rare indefinite prison sentence after multiple sexual-related acts with children.

The 38-year-old was being held at the Serco-run Auckland South Corrections Facility, which houses male prisoners but also those who identify as women.

She says she was illegally kept in solitary confinement for six months as retribution.

In a hearing last year the High Court ruled against Stevens' claims, a decision echoed by the Court of Appeal last week.