By Paul A. Reid, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
AN IRISH-BORN English resident, who pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle two kilogrammes or four pounds of cocaine out of Jamaica in March, told the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday that he had hoped to use the proceeds from his venture to pay for his "gender reassignment operation".
Anthony Carey, a 40-year-old unemployed student, who was born in the Republic of Ireland but has been living in Birmingham, England, for the past two years, told the court that he was in the middle of a sex change operation and wanted to be treated as a woman. He told the court he was not a homosexual but wanted to be referred to as an "intersex".
NOT A FREAK
Carey told the court that he did not want to be seen as a freak as "God made me what I am and I just want to look on the outside as I feel on the inside."
The frail, balding man, who walked with a distinct limp and whose hands shook all the time while he was in court, said he was sent to collect what he thought was ganja by individuals, who offered him protection as he was being attacked by persons in the area, who knew of his "status".
He also told the court he was attacked several times while in the lock-up and that there was an attempt on his life. He added that he sometimes went for long periods without showering as he was forced to bathe with other men.
Carey, who read from a prepared text, told the court he was very nervous and did not want to read out everything he had written down as he was afraid of being sent to a male prison as he could be killed if news of his condition spread at the lock-up.
Carey was arrested on March 31 when his luggage was searched as he was getting ready to leave the island on a chartered flight to Manchester, England. The police found six packages containing cocaine in a hidden compartment in his suitcase.
Resident Magistrate Ms. Valerie Stephens postponed his sentencing, and has ordered that his medical records be forwarded in time for May 31 when she will decide his fate.
