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Inmate’s sex-change operation in jeopardy

US District Court Judge Mark Wolf warned convicted wife killer Michelle L. Kosilek that Kosilek could lose the oppor­tunity for taxpayer-financed sex reassignment surgery if the inmate violates court confidentiality rules in the future.

In a three-page ruling filed in US District Court in Boston Thursday, Wolf wrote that ­Kosilek used a friend to conduct an e-mail conversation with an unidentified doctor who has told the Department of Correction that he or she is willing to perform the sex re­assign­ment surgery on Kosilek.

That contact, Wolf wrote, violated the confidentiality rules he laid out when he ­ordered the department to prepare for the surgery to take place if the higher courts reject an appeal of Wolf’s order by the Patrick administration.

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Last fall, Wolf ruled that ­Kosilek’s Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment was being violated because the medical profession now considers sex- reassignment surgery a valid medical treatment for gender identity disorder.

Wolf wrote that he will not tolerate a second violation.

“Future inequitable conduct by Kosilek could threaten the injunction mandating Sex ­Reassignment Surgery that ­Kosilek persuaded the court is necessary and appropriate in this case,’’ Wolf wrote.

The judge has ordered the Department of Correction to make sure the surgery is done but put that order on hold, provided the department is ready for the operation once the ­appeal is decided.

The department has since been trying to identify surgeons with the skills to perform the surgery, the willingness to operate on a convicted killer, and the ability to operate in a high-security setting.

Wolf wrote that he considered imposing criminal sanctions, but noted that Kosilek’s life sentence would not be ­affected.

In an affidavit, Kosilek ­alluded to misunderstanding the content of the Department of Correction reports and ­expressed concern that the surgery will never take place.

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“I have regularly contacted qualified health care providers in the United States with inquiries about my mental health condition and sexual reassignment surgery,’’ Kosilek wrote. “I have been very anxious and concerned about when my surgery will take place and about any delays that may occur.’’

Kosilek was born Robert Kosilek. As a man, he strangled his wife, Cheryl, in Mansfield in 1990 and dumped her body in a car at the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleborough. Kosilek then fled to New York State before being arrested. He appeared dressed as a woman at his trial.

Kosilek was convicted of first-degree murder in January 1993 and is serving a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.


John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@
globe.com
. Follow him on ­Twitter @JREbosglobe.