Canada: Ryan Handy gets eight months in prison for HIV exposure

Ryan Handy, whose HIV exposure conviction galvanised Toronto's gay community, has been sentenced to eight months in jail; given a two- year probation order with conditions that include continuing his treatment for mental illness, no illegal drugs, disclosing his HIV status to all sex partners and no unprotected sex; ordered to provide a DNA sample; prohibited from having weapons for 10 years; and had his name added to a sex offender registry for life.

All this despite the judge, Justice William Jenkins, conceding that the case was "unusual. . . because you suffered from a mental illness that affected your judgment and because you have expressed genuine remorse."

The sentence, however, is less than the three years' demanded by the Crown, and which the Judge called "crushing".

However Justice Williams appears to have decided that even a young man with mental health problems deserves prison because he "selfishly and recklessly had unprotected sex with (his 'victim', who remains HIV-negative) and exposed him to a deadly virus... [It is ] essential that others who are HIV positive understand that if they fail to disclose their condition and engage in unprotected sex with men or women who are not infected, they will go to jail."

I think Canadians have got the message loud and clear; shame that HIV exposure laws – which mandate disclosure before unprotected sex – make absolutely no sense from a public health perspective and do more harm than good.

Full story, from the London Free Press, below.

HIV positive man spread virus, jailed 8 months
By JANE SIMS, SUN MEDIA

An HIV positive man with a mental illness was sent to jail yesterday for knowingly spreading the virus that causes AIDS.

"I'll be okay," Ryan Handy, 26, told his psychiatrist from the prisoner's box before he was led away by court security officers.

Handy was convicted in November. He had testified he had a major mental illness and believed he had sweated out the virus. He also said that at one point he believed he was a messiah.

In February 2005, Handy met a 55-year-old gay man, whose identity is protected by court order, in a gay Internet chat room. They had two unprotected sexual encounters, even though Handy was obligated to tell the man his HIV status. Hours after the second encounter, Handy said, he called the man and told him he had the virus. He testified he believed he was HIV negative, but had a moment of clarity while walking home from the man's house and understood he had the virus. Three years later, the man remains HIV negative.

Justice William Jenkins called the case "unusual. . . because you suffered from a mental illness that affected your judgment and because you have expressed genuine remorse." Handy has schizoid-affective disorder with symptoms that include "mood instability, delusions of grandeur, promiscuity, impaired reality testing, promiscuity and substance abuse."

Jenkins noted Handy has had difficulty complying with his medical advice and needs close monitoring. "If you take your medication (his doctors) believe you will not be a danger to yourself or to others," Jenkins said.

Jenkins said he believed that because the complainant was much older, Handy was afraid to tell him he was HIV positive. And his use of marijuana the evening of the offence "aggravated your mental condition."

"You selfishly and recklessly had unprotected sex with (the man) and exposed him to a deadly virus," the judge said. Jenkins said it was "essential that others who are HIV positive understand that if they fail to disclose their condition and engage in unprotected sex with men or women who are not infected, they will go to jail."

He said he couldn't agree to a conditional sentence the defence had requested, but called the three-year jail term requested by the Crown as "crushing." He decided on the shorter eight-month jail sentence.

Handy was also given a two- year probation order with conditions that include continuing his treatment for mental illness, no illegal drugs, disclosing his HIV status to all sex partners and no unprotected sex.

He was also ordered to provide a DNA sample, prohibited from having weapons for 10 years and had his name added to a sex offender registry for life.