Guyana magistrate says gay sex worker must stand trial
A senior magistrate in Guyana on Friday ordered well known transgender personality, Otis Pearson, to stand trial on a charge of rape involving a minor.
Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore made the ruling against Pearson, better known as “Otisha” following a paper committal.
The court heard that on December 24, last year, Pearson, who was not required to plead to the charge, engaged in sexual activity with a child under the age of 16.
The accused was arrested in March after accusations were levelled against him in relation to having sexual relations with under-aged boys.
The Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) had assisted the police in the probe and a file was compiled and sent to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice.
Pearson had been very vocal on social media and was reported as saying during a television interview that he “has a young boy for every day of the week.”
But Pearson claimed that the statement was misinterpreted and he denied having sexual relations with “little boys.”
Pearson was initially placed on GUY$300,000 bail but that the figure was reduced to GUY$200,000 after he failed to meet the original bail and spent several days in remand.
