Tonight, 19 year-old transgender Vanessa Champagne Paris, legally known as Perfilio Rodriguez, is out of prison after spending 2 nights on remand because she couldn't meet bail.
On Tuesday, she was arraigned on the criminal charge of aggravated assault before Magistrate Herbert Panton, and she was granted bail of $300. The problem is nobody wanted to bail her out, so she spent the 2 nights in a gender neutral holding cell area of the Belize Central Prison. That was done for security reasons, and because this was the first time that the prison had to house somebody like Paris.
But, her father came to her rescue today and signed bail for her, and she was released from police custody this morning. The freelance court journalists got an opportunity to speak with her outside of court, and she explained her experience in the prison:
Reporter
"What Wing, What Tango were you kept?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"I don't know."
Reporter
"You were by yourself?"
Vanessa Champagne
"Yes."
Reporter
"Safe and everything?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"Well yeah, they said that if they put me in the other cell, others would have chanced me."
Reporter
"Nobody did anything to you, though."
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"No, but the police officers made fun of me."
Reporter
"They made fun of you?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"Uhuh."
Reporter
"How does that make you feel?"
Vanessa Champagne Paris
"Bad, because, they aren't supposed to tease me because of my gender expression."
As you might have noticed, she exited court without her usual kit used to give the physical appearance of a woman. She must return to court of August 29 to fight her case against Golda Orozco, Caleb's sister, who has accused her of threatening her with a knife.
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