KAMLOOPS, B.C. – A convicted pedophile who could be locked up indefinitely says the drugs he took to control his sexual impulses a decade ago caused him to grow breasts.
David Jennings, 50, also told a hearing that he doesn’t remember abusing children in Alberta in the 1980s and 90s and denied fondling a boy in 2011 in a rural area outside Kamloops, B.C.
The Crown is seeking to have Jennings labelled a dangerous offender with an indefinite jail sentence following his last conviction.
Jennings told provincial court he took a drug prescribed to control his impulses for several years, until 2004, but that he grew breasts and required surgery.
“I don’t think they should be doing that. I’m a man,” he said. “They gave me female hormones.”
“I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”
Jennings was also jailed for breaching a court order to stay away from children when he befriended a 13-year-old boy while volunteering at a Salvation Army thrift store in Kamloops.
The sexual offence three years ago against the boy — who called him Uncle Dave — occurred in a rural home after the RCMP issued a public warning about him.
In each case, Jennings befriended families, who allowed him to be around their kids, court heard.
Crown lawyer Joel Gold outlined Jennings’ offences in Alberta, where he fondled children as young as three years old.
“I can’t remember any of it,” Jennings said, shaking his head and saying “No” in each case. “I’m telling you the truth. I don’t remember.”
Gold accused Jennings of minimizing the past by pretending to forget it.
“Do you really not remember, sir, or do you not want to talk about it?”
In the case of his conviction for fondling a young boy at Skeetchestn Indian Reserve, Jennings denied it, saying, “It never happened.
“It’s getting me quite sick because it’s so negative. There’s nothing positive here,” he told Judge Len Marchand.
Jennings frequently complained about news stories he said caused him problems at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre.
Despite threats, he claimed he would prefer to be housed with the general population.
Gold said correspondence from the jail indicated Jennings asked to go in protective custody.
At times, he has needed protection from other sex offenders housed in protective custody.
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