Colorado Springs – A hermaphrodite once accused of impersonating a high school student to join a girls cheerleading squad has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of theft, fraud and jumping bail.
Storme Shannon Aerison, 42, was born with male and female genitalia but identifies herself as a woman, her attorney said. She entered her plea Monday.
She has been arrested at least three times since 2000 on charges of defrauding a credit union of thousands of dollars, impersonating a model to get others to pay for trips to photo shoots and jumping bail.
Psychiatrists have testified Aerison suffers from dissociative identity disorder, once known as multiple-personality disorder.
A judge said last month Aerison was faking a mental disorder and ruled she is competent to stand trial. Her attorney, Karin Bagn, as asked the judge to reconsider.
In 1990, at age 26, Aerison was arrested on criminal impersonation charges after claiming she was 17, enrolling at Colorado Springs’ Coronado High School and joining the girls cheerleading squad.
