Source: Women are Human
IE — Dublin. A 58-year-old who inflicted burn wounds to the face, neck, shoulders and chest of a fellow casino patron was allowed to walk free on a suspended sentence after a lawyer told the judge that his client’s “gender issues” should be taken into account, as “someone of her position would find prison would be more difficult and isolating.”
Rolando Otto, who is male and self-identifies as a woman named Samantha, moved from the Philippines to Ireland in 2011 to work in a salon.
Mr Otto had several chance encounters at a casino with a man who sometimes stopped there after work. The man eventually gave Mr Otto his phone number.
Mr Otto began sending to the other man’s phone number text messages of a sexual nature. The man explained to Mr Otto that he wished only to be friends, was made uncomfortable by the messages, and would block Mr Otto’s number if such messages continued, Detective Garda Pauline Collier later testified.
The man ultimately blocked Mr Otto from texting. When the men would happen upon each other at the casino, Mr Otto would “constantly” request that the other man unblock his number.
According to Det Gda Collier, on one occasion, Mr Otto asked to go home with the man, and followed the man onto a bus he rode to get home. Mr Otto subsequently apologized for the stalking incident, and the man accepted the apology, but told Mr Otto his actions were unacceptable.
On 27 April, 2019, the date of the attack leading to his arrest, Mr Otto approached the man at the casino. The man said he did not want to talk. Mr Otto shoved the man and called him an “a****le.” The man replied that he had had enough, and called Mr Otto a “crazy b***h.” Later, as the man was sitting at a slot machine, Mr Otto went over and poured boiling water on his face, the detective said.
Mr Otto told the court through his lawyer that he thought the man was laughing at him and had lost control.
Pieter Le Vert BL, mitigating, told the judge that his client had become unemployed in 2014 after losing his voice for a year, resulting in “essentially working on the street.” Following intervention by a non-governmental organization, Mr Otto has been pursuing an education, the lawyer said. Mr Le Vert asked the court not to impose a prison sentence, given that his client is turning his life around and “gender issues” would make prison “more difficult and isolating.”
Judge Pauline Codd noted that the “period of harassment” preceding the assault and the “utterly unprovoked” nature of the crime were “aggravating” factors, but agreed with the defense attorney that, given the defendant’s hardships and lack of prior criminal history, a custodial sentence was not appropriate. She handed the defendant a three-year sentence, suspended in full on strict conditions.
After the trial, Mr Otto told a reporter at Sunday World about the victim: “I wanted him to be my boyfriend.”
The victim, who fully recovered from physical injuries sustained during the attack, has since relocated to another home, saying he no longer feels safe.
Featured image credit: Sunday World
