A hermaphrodite who faces theft and other charges is competent to stand trial, a judge has ruled.
Storme Shannon Aerison, 42, who was born Charles Daugherty, has been in the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo since 2004. Defense attorneys claim Aerison suffers from a personality disorder.
In a ruling released last week, Judge Edward Colt said he believes testimony from a doctor who said Aerison is “feigning cognitive impairment in an effort to avoid prosecution.”
Aerison, a 5-foot-9, 140-pound self-described supermodel, was born with male and female genitalia. Aerison is accused of bilking three men out of costs associated with the production of a swimsuit calendar, including a photo shoot in Hawaii.
Aerison was featured in the National Enquirer and other national publications in 1990 after enrolling at Coronado High School in Colorado Springs and joining the girl’s varsity cheerleading squad.
Unmasked as a twentysomething hermaphrodite a few weeks later, Aerison was eventually sentenced to two years probation for felony impersonation and ordered to receive psychiatric counseling.
Aerison most recently came to the attention of police when an Air Force Academy cadet and a Colorado State University student reported possible fraud. They had been offered positions on a photo shoot and had provided personal information so Aerison’s business could open a checking account.
During an ensuing search, police found the name of a U.S. Military Academy cadet on documents for the photo production company. The West Point cadet had been to Hawaii with Aerison to do a photo shoot.
At the time, Aerison was out on bond in a similar case, and was prohibited from opening checking accounts, modeling or conducting any photo shoots.
When police tried to talk to the West Point cadet about the possible fraud, he refused.
“(He) stated that my accusation that Gabriel is actually a man is a lie, and he chose not to talk to me,” Colorado Springs Police Detective Michael Finn wrote in the arrest affidavit.
Staff writer Erin Emery can be reached at 719-522-1360 or eemery@denverpost.com.
