A Russian father has given police an "unprecedented" reason for not paying child support or alimony — he needed the money for a sex change, Leningrad Region police said in a statement.
In this "unprecedented incident," the father had been on their wanted list for a number of years in connection with non-payment of child-support, the police statement said.
"He explained his failure to pay the debt as being due to physical incapacity in connection with 'illness and operations,'" the statement said.
Now known by the Russian female name Alyona, the suspect is currently believed to be living in the Moscow Region. Russian police also noted that, as soon as the paperwork has been altered to reflect the sex-change, Alyona will be served with notice to pay the money owed.
The story has been widely reported in the Russian media, with some local news sites claiming this is the first such case. Many reports have suggested the man chose to have the sex-change in order to avoid paying alimony and child support to his ex-wife, although the police statement provides no information to support this claim.
