Mason “Adree” Edmo (Courtesy: Facebook)

US — Boise, Idaho. A man who sexually assaulted an adolescent child is being praised by mainstream media as a civil rights hero after winning a landmark lawsuit against the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) that is expected to make him the first inmate in the state to undergo gender-affirming plastic surgery. If provided the surgery, the male convict will be transferred to a women’s prison pursuant to IDOC policy.

In 2011, Adree Edmo raped a 15-year-old, performing oral sex on the underage boy after the teen fell asleep on the couch at a house party. Mr Edmo pleaded guilty to the crime of sexual abuse of a minor under 16. He is currently serving a 10-year sentence with no chance of parole.

Now aged 31, Mr Edmo claims he has “felt like a girl” from childhood, when he played with Barbies, bonded closely with his sisters, and developed crushes on boys in grade school.

Mason Edmo IDOC Offender Details

Child Sexual Offender Fights for Gender-Affirming Surgery to End His “Emotional Pain”

A prison psychiatrist and prison psychologist both determined that Mr Edmo has gender dysphoria, a condition that causes him to identify as a woman despite being male. Following the diagnosis, the IDOC provided Mr Edmo with medical hormones that would gradually feminize his appearance.

Mason “Adree” Edmo. (Credit: Idaho Department of Correction)

The inmate styled his hair, and adorned himself with makeup, as well as with undergarments he had modified to look feminine.

Not satisfied, the sex offender made a series of suicide attempts beginning in 2014, and attempted to castrate his own testicles in 2015. He successfully severed one testicle, which the hospital was able to reattach. Mr Edmo later became a routine self-cutter. He claims that his “emotional pain” is too great, and will not end until the Idaho DOC provides him with the gender-affirming surgery he desires.

Mr Edmo sued the IDOC, demanding gender-affirming surgery. Presiding Judge B Lynn Winmill ruled in favor of the convicted child sexual predator.

The ruling sparked taxpayer outrage, and the state of Idaho is appealing.

Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled in favor of Mason “Adree” Edmo, finding that the Idaho Department of Correction should not deprive convicted child sex abuser Edmo of taxpayer-funded, gender-affirming surgery. (Courtesy: KIFI: Local News 8)

Taxpayers’ Outrage

Taxpayers who oppose the use of their money to reward an imprisoned criminal with expensive elective surgery are fighting back with an online petition on MoveOn.org. The petition, created by taxpayer David Jones, has gathered well over 5,160 signatures, with more pouring in at press time.

Idaho taxpayer Micky Dunn wrote, “I [definitely] do not think the tax payers should have to pay for the surgery. Make him work & earn the money like everyone else does when they want or need something. It’s his own fault he’s in there. We are already paying for his food, room & board, etc.”

Brady Summers says his partner of two years, Mason “Adree” Edmo, terrorized him throughout their two-year partnership, subjecting him to beatings and forceful rape. (Courtesy: Brady Summers via KIFI: Local News 8)

Pattern of Abuse

Mr Edmo, who was named Mason Edmo at birth, also has a record of intimate partner violence. “He would beat me on a constant basis,” Mr Edmo’s male ex-partner, Brady Summers, tearfully recalled in an on-camera interview with KIFI: Local News 8.

“I had to keep my head low. I had to be careful what I said, careful what I did. And the final straw of me escaping that was him beating me with a frying pan.”

In addition to the routine beatings, Mr Summers said that his ex violently raped him. “He was a predator. He, on several occasions, had his way with me. It was brutal.”

Mr Summers added: “It’s not right that we as taxpayers have to be involved with this. He never once thought about his victims, our emotional sanity.”

Mr Edmo also has convictions for felony fraud and driving under the influence.

UPDATES

Battle Rages On

In late August 2019, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Winmill’s ruling, finding that prison officials were “deliberately indifferent to Edmo’s gender dysphoria, in violation of the Eighth Amendment.” The Eighth Amendment is a prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments.

Idaho plans to appeal the ruling. “We cannot divert critical public dollars away from the higher priorities of keeping the public safe and rehabilitating offenders,” Governor Brad Little said in a statement. “The hardworking taxpayers of Idaho should not be forced to pay for a convicted sex offender’s gender reassignment surgery when it is contrary to the medical opinions of the treating physician and multiple mental health professionals.” Two additional physicians had agreed with the inmate’s original treatment plan.

Many news outlets laud Mr Edmo’s successful landmark lawsuit, with few naming the crime he is imprisoned for.

Supreme Court Denies Request to Put Edmo’s Surgery On Hold

On Thursday, May 21, the US Supreme Court denied the IDOC’s request to put Mr Edmo’s surgery on hold while the state waits to see if the appeal will be heard.

Mr Edmo will be able to continue receiving pre-surgical treatments, and potentially undergo gender-affirming plastic surgery while court procedures are pending.

Mr Edmo is expected to be released from prison in July 2021.



