Canada: Two criminal HIV exposure trials taking place in Winnipeg

Winnipeg is currently the criminal HIV exposure capital of the world with two trials currently taking place there. Of note, both of the accused are male African migrants.

The first concerns, Clato Mabior, 31, who has pleaded not guilty to 17 charges, including aggravated sexual assault (for rape with HIV exposure), forcible confinement and uttering threats involving eleven different women. According to the story in the Winnipeg Free Press, "legal experts say it's the biggest case of its kind in Winnipeg, and perhaps even in Canada."

(Actually the forthcoming murder trial of another male African migrant, Johnson Aziga, is definitely the biggest case in Canada, if not globally.)

The second is a continuation of the trial of an unnamed 35 year-old man that was halted last November after it was alleged that public health nurses acted inappropriately in the handling of his case.

Confusingly, both cases are reported in this single story from the Winnipeg Free Press below. I have edited it slightly to make it a little less confusing. There is also a second story, from CTV.ca in 2006, providing some background to the Mabior case.

Chilling details in HIV sex trial
Teen alleges she was lured from shelter and repeatedly raped
By Mike McIntyre
May 13, 2008

A 15-year-old girl repeatedly broke down in tears Monday as she described being raped by an HIV-positive man who lured her from a temporary Child and Family Services "shelter" inside a downtown Winnipeg hotel with the promise of drugs and alcohol.

The teen, who was only 12 years old at the time, was the Crown's first witness in a month-long Queen's Bench trial.

Clato Mabior, 31, has pleaded not guilty to 17 total charges, including aggravated sexual assault, forcible confinement and uttering threats involving 11 different victims. Legal experts say it's the biggest case of its kind in Winnipeg, and perhaps even in Canada.

"I was scared. He has a life-threatening disease and he didn't tell me he had it," the youngest alleged victim testified.

A large screen was put up in court so she wouldn't have to stare at Mabior, who sat in the back of the room with sheriff's officers.

The girl said Mabior -- who she knew as "K-Dog" -- had oral, vaginal and anal sex with her on several occasions and never disclosed his illness. She later found out from another teenage friend he was HIV-positive. "She told me to stop having sex with him," she said.

The teen has since tested negative for HIV.

The girl said Mabior ignored her protests to stop and would ply her with beer and even crack cocaine on one occasion inside his Sherbrook Street rooming house. She met Mabior when he began hanging around the Place Louis Riel hotel, where CFS had placed her while waiting to find a more permanent housing solution after she had been seized from her birth parents.

Placing CFS wards in hotel rooms was once a common and controversial practice. Provincial statistics show more than 100 children at a time were being temporarily placed in hotels during 2006. Critics were outraged children were being warehoused because of a shortage of foster or shelter beds in the province.

A provincial ban was announced last year following a series of sweeping reviews of Manitoba's troubled child welfare system. The teen said she eventually told police and her social worker about Mabior after they tracked her down inside his home.

Mabior was arrested in early 2006 following an unprecedented public warning by police and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority that prompted several young women to come forward -- many of them teenage runaways.

Police in Brandon, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and London, Ont., were also notified about Mabior, since he lived in each city after immigrating to Canada from Sudan in 2000.

The police and WRHA warning came two weeks after the Free Press exposed that health authorities did not go to police for three years about another HIV-positive man they believed was having unprotected sex.

[In this second case, also on trial this week in Winnipeg] the 35-year-old African immigrant -- who can't be named under a court order -- is accused of putting the lives of several girlfriends at risk by hiding the fact he was HIV-positive and then engaging in unprotected sex.

His trial began last November and resumed Monday in Winnipeg.

The man took the stand in his own defence and denied any wrongdoing.

He claims he warned his partners about his illness, but they still elected to have sex with him despite the risk.

His alleged victims include a 17-year-old girl who got pregnant -- then tried to run over him with her van after learning the truth about his health. She eventually miscarried.

The man told court Monday the teen thought he was joking when he first told her about his status prior to having sex. She then never brought the issue up again as their relationship moved forward, he said.

Another victim says she began dating the accused in 2000 and had his baby in the fall of 2005. The woman told court of a rocky relationship that included several warning signs about the man's condition.

A third alleged victim has since tested positive for HIV. However, Queen's Bench Justice Nathan Nurgitz agreed with a defence motion Monday to find there was insufficient evidence to proceed with that charge. That's because the woman admitted under cross-examination to having unprotected sex with the accused even after she knew he was HIV-positive.

More charges laid against HIV-infected Wpg. man
Fri. Mar. 24 2006 11:58 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff

New charges have been laid against an HIV-positive Winnipeg man who is already facing allegations of aggravated sexual assault.

Clato Lual Mabior, 28, was initially arrested last weekend after allegations that a teenage girl was sexually assaulted during a drinking party.

Const. Jacqueline Chaput of the Winnipeg Police Service said Friday that more than 25 potential victims have come forward since police issued a notice about the man on March 21.

Authorities took the unprecedented step of making the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority order public after they considered the suspect's behaviour a potential health risk to others.

Chaput said it will take time to interview all of the new callers, but so far police have determined there are at least two alleged victims.

"Every case has to be assessed individually, so at this point we can't comment as to how big or small this could be," said Chaput.

Police say Mabior was involved in a relationship with a 17-year-old female between Feb. 20 and March 31, 2005, during which time they had unprotected sex. Authorities allege he did not tell the girl about his health issues.

On two occasions between Feb. 1 and Feb. 28, an 18-year-old female acquaintance of Mabior was spending the night at his residence when she was allegedly sexually assaulted by him and prevented from leaving.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority order against Mabior told him not to have unprotected sex, not to frequent prostitutes and to disclose his HIV-positive status to potential sex partners.

Mabior was charged with aggravated sexual assault, forcible confinement and uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm on March 19 in connection with the 17-year old female.

On March 23, Mabior was arrested and charged with two more counts of aggravated sexual assault and two more counts of forcible confinement.

Police say these new charges stem from incidents in 2005 involving two other people.

Mabior is currently being detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.

Mabior told CTV Winnipeg on Wednesday that he has done nothing wrong. He said he informs all his sexual partners of his health status.

"And if she doesn't believe me I say okay, I have sex with you, but I have to use a condom."

Mabior has also lived in Toronto and Brandon, Man., but it's unknown if anyone has come forward in these cities.

"We will be working in conjunction with other police departments regarding Mabior and his activities," said Chaput.

Police are advising any people who have had any type of sexual relations with Mabior seek medical attention immediately and contact the Winnipeg Police Service Sex Crimes Unit at (204)xxx-xxxx.