A sex offender in Québec who began identifying as a woman after being convicted of sexual assault with a weapon has engaged in genital self-mutilation on the eve of being sentenced, reportedly as a way to avoid being sent to a men’s prison.
According to La Presse, Jody Matthew Burke, who now goes by the name of Amber, caused the self-inflicted wounds and was rushed to hospital late Tuesday night. Burke’s lawyer, Veronique Talbot, confirmed that her client had undergone urgent surgery upon arrival at the hospital but did not give further details.
During the scheduled court hearing on Wednesday morning, Talbot offered to give Judge Jacques Gagné details in private, but the judge declined, instead expressing interest in when he could hand down Burke’s sentence.
Burke’s most recent victim, Brigitte Jobin, was present at the hearing and called the act of self-mutilation “calculated.”
“For me it’s a lot of emotions to deal with. I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, be angry or just discouraged by the circus that has been going on for six years,” Jobin told La Presse.
“He chose the day before his sentence to [self-harm], it’s very calculated. I know him. I know he’s capable of pretty twisted scenarios. This one, it surpasses everything. I don’t even have an ounce of pity for what he did,” she added.
Women’s prison advocate Heather Mason believes Burke attempted to self-castrate as a way to avoid being sent to a men’s prison.
The 46-year-old mixed martial arts fighter serving time for multiple violent sexual assaults began identifying as female last summer.
Burke was convicted in May 2021 of eight counts, including sexual assault with a weapon causing bodily harm and death threats. Burke has been incarcerated since 2017 when the trial began.
Burke is currently being held at the Montreal Detention Facility (Bordeaux) and appears to have access to a contraband cellphone.
A relative confirmed to La Presse that in recent days the trans-identified sex offender had threatened to perform a surgical self-castration.
Burke created a Facebook page in February, which contains several photographs of the sex offender’s legs and groin.
In a March 30 post, Burke takes full responsibility for harm caused.
“I take full responsibility for my actions and the harm I have caused. I understand that my gender dysphoria and drug use do not excuse or justify my behavior, and I am committed to seeking help and taking steps to ensure that I never harm anyone again,” said the sexual predator.
“I know that I have a lot of work to do in terms of addressing my behavior and the underlying issues that led me to commit these acts of violence, and I am willing to do what it takes to make amends and become a better person,” Burke went on. “I hope that society can eventually see that I am not using my gender dysphoria as an excuse, but instead recognize that it is a real and valid issue that I am grappling with alongside my other challenges.”
Another post later that same day is just a series of LGBTQ hashtags including #transgirl, #transisbeautiful, #transwoman, #loveislove, and #crossdresser.
Then on April 4, Burke posted to say that a request to transfer to a women’s prison had been turned down, due to the fact that “this man has made no transformation at all.” Burke argued that this decision contradicts Justin Trudeau’s policies, and vowed to make a second application.
Male criminals who self-identify as women have been permitted transfer to women’s prisons in Canada since Bill C-16 was passed in 2017, which added gender identity and gender expression as protected characteristics to the Criminal Code.
Trudeau was questioned at a town hall in Kingston, ON in January 2017 by a participant who described the policy in place at the time of housing inmates by biological sex as "torture" for transgender inmates.
Trudeau replied that it was "not on his radar, but that he would move to address it" now that it was, the CBC reported at the time.
"I will make sure we look at it and we address it and we do right in recognizing that trans rights are human rights and we need to make sure we are defending everyone's dignity and rights in every way we can," he said.
Trudeau made no mention of incarcerated women’s rights or dignity at the time and has not done so since.
La Presse reports that a forensic report to assess Burke’s risk of reoffending recorded that the sexual predator had threatened suicide “if he were to be sentenced to life [and forced] to live his ‘trans’ lifestyle surrounded by men in a [male] prison environment.”
Sentencing has been postponed until Thursday. Burke is not expected to attend the hearing.
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