A British prisoner who transferred from a men’s jail to a women’s facility after changing sex has opted to swap gender — and prisons –again, a report said on Thursday.
John Pilley was granted permission in 1999 to have a sex change. The procedure took place two years later after which, as Jane Anne Pilley, he was moved to Holloway women’s prison in London.
However, the 54-year-old, serving a life sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping, has decided to become a man again, The Times newspaper reported.
Pilley is waiting to have the new operation, again to be carried out by Britain’s state National Health Service, after which he will be transferred back to a men’s prison, the paper said.
”Although it is not unheard of, it is very rare indeed for people to have regrets and want to change back,” Christine Burns, of Press for Change, a pressure group for transsexual rights, said of the new operation.
Pilley, who underwent seven years of hormone treatment before the first operation, was initially refused permission to change sex, but won his case after taking legal advice.
Before moving prison, he was allowed to wear women’s clothing in his cell at night and men’s clothes during the day, The Times said. — Sapa-AFP