http://www.torontosun.com/2017/05/17/sex-offender-accused-of-attempting-to-abuse-pregnant-runaways
By Sam Pazzano, Toronto Sun
First posted: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 08:25 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, May 17, 2017 09:44 PM EDT
A convicted male sex offender who now identifies as a female allegedly posed as a medically trained professional to perform vaginal exams on pregnant runaways, a Crown attorney said Wednesday.
Jonathan Smith said in his jury opening that Patrick Pearsall now identifies as a “female” and prefers the name, “Tara,” but his two alleged victims knew him as “Pat” or “Patrick.
Both victims were coaxed into agreeing to the exams by Pearsall’s wife in 2008 and his girlfriend in 2015, according to the prosecution.
Pearsall, 52, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexual assault. The complainants’ identities are covered by a publication ban.
The first alleged victim was a 21-year-old homeless woman who met Pearsall and wife Tara Jean Tracey in the spring of 2008.
Through social media, the woman and Tracey became friends. Tracey and Pearsall offered her a room in their apartment, said Smith.
“Initially everything was fine. Tracey told her that Pearsall was a paramedic, and showed her various identification, and certificates in support of this employment,” said Smith.
Within two weeks of moving into the apartment, the woman “began to experience vaginal bleeding,” said Smith.
Tracey urged the alleged victim to let Pearsall “check to see what was wrong” because of his paramedic training.
She agreed. Pearsall examined her for approximately 10 minutes.
Upon completing the exam, Pearsall delivered the bad news, court heard. She had two options: Go to the hospital and have an abortion or have sex with him and it would stop the abortion.
The woman wasn’t buying Pearsall’s solution, the jury heard.
“I pulled up my pants — there’s a red flag — and I left,” the woman testified in court Wednesday.
In 2010, the woman heard from Tracey that Pearsall had been convicted of sexually a 16-year old pregnant girl in Halifax after befriending the homeless victim and her boyfriend, jurors were told.
In that case, Pearsall said that he was a doctor and the Halifax teen might be having a miscarriage. He said he could fix the problem by having sex with her, court heard.
The second alleged victim in the current case was a 17-year-old pregnant runaway from a CAS-run group home in 2015. The teen met Pearsall and his then-girlfriend, Jessica Musson.
She stayed at their motel room and agreed to let Pearsall perform a pelvic exam, court heard.
Pearsall offered to pay to hold a party for the teen if she agreed to have sex with him, said Smith. She refused, court heard.
The trial resumes Thursday.
Patrick Pearsall wears lipstick, blush and women’s clothing.
His craggy, sharp features aren’t softened by the make-up that covers his fading, but still darkened face. He is showing signs that he will one day become a woman.
He has budding breasts and his hands no longer resemble a man’s rugged mitts.
He now identifies as a female and wants to be called “Tara,” which is his ex-wife Tara Jean Tracey’s first name.
She has endured and still faces more hormonal treatments, but still hasn’t turned the corner on his feminine side yet.
According to the allegations, Pearsall knows what it’s like to be surrounded by troubled women. Tara’s facing two accusers, young vulnerable women who allegedly knew him as “Pat” or “Patrick.” The complainants were ages 17 and 21 and saw him as a man.
According to the Crown, the women trusted his female partners, who allegedly coaxed them into submitting to Pearsall’s pelvic examinations.
They said he was a medical professional, a paramedic or a war-time doctor who helped pregnant women, court has heard.
The jury was asked to put aside any feelings they might have about a transsexual accused. Like everyone else, “Tara” Pearsall should be judged solely on the trial evidence and the law, urged Justice Wailan Low.
— Sam Pazzano