Canada: Quebec gay man arrested, remanded in custody for non-disclosure prior to bareback orgy

A judge in Quebec has remanded a 32 year-old gay man in custody after the Crown prosecutor branded him a "danger to the public" following allegations that he did not disclose that he was HIV-positive with men he met for sex on the internet using the pseudonym bbackbottom31.

The man currently faces four charges relating to sex with two men during a bareback orgy – two aggravated assault charges and two aggravated sexual assault charges – but since his name and photo have appeared in the press along with the usual 'fishing expedition' from police to contact them if they have been in contact with man via the internet or in person, there are bound to be more charges.

In some of the most stigmatising reporting to date of a gay case of non-disclosure in Canada, several articles in Le Journal de Quebec (here and here, in French only) paint the man to be a sexual predator who didn't disclose "to make others pay" and his willing sexual partners to be innocent victims of sexual assault.

The reality of gay sexual mores is not so black and white.  He advertised himself as a bareback bottom - and even if he didn't disclose his status, any gay man who chose to have unprotected sex with him should have been aware of the risks (which, as a recent case in British Columbia has shown may not actually reach the 'significant risk' test for disclosure of HIV-positive status).

This arrest and the ensuing publicity is a travesty.

Highlights (if I can call them that) of the two articles in English, using Google translate, are below

HIV positive, he recruited on the web

A public danger 
The Crown prosecutor objected to his release given the seriousness of the charges. In all, four charges have been brought so far against this individual, two for aggravated assault and two for aggravated sexual assault. "There are different ways to commit aggravated assault. It can be wounding, maiming, disfiguring or, as is the case in this context, life-threatening danger," said Mr. Gagnon... "He sexually assaulted by not giving information that would have provided free and informed consent and, in parallel to this, he endangered the lives of others."

Victim of a web relationship
A resident of Quebec, [accused's name], 32, faces justice for having unprotected sex with alleged victims met on the internet, whilst he knew he was HIV-positive. Using gay sites to meet with his partners, [he] met at least two victims in recent weeks. Jimmy (not his real name) fell into his trap in the autumn of 2009. Since that time, he believes he had unprotected sex between seven and ten times with the defendant.
 
"When I met him, he assured me he was clean and safe. I was single in those days.  Subsequently, when I had a boyfriend we met for threesomes," said the totally desperate 40 year-old. Jimmy will not know if he has contracted HIV for three months. Meanwhile, he is receiving a preventive treatment that gives him several side effects. His ex-boyfriend is also a complainant in the case.

[The article then says that Jimmy was told that the man was HIV-positive by a nurse when he was visiting him in hospital. When confronted, Jimmy was told it was none of his business. But Jimmy claimed he knew that the man continued to have unprotected sex with men he met on the internet.]
 
Act of revenge
The defendant frequented sites like Gay411 under the pseudonym bbackbottom31.  Investigators believe they may have been other victims.  At least two other men were allegedly involved in sexual activities between [the accused] and Jimmy and his partner. "You cannot gamble with the lives of people like that."...The orgy took place at the residence of [the accused], at [his streeet address].

[The final few sentences don't make sense as translated but appear to suggest that Jimmy thinks the accused didn't disclose as an act of revenge.]

Le prévenu faisait croire à ses victimes qu’il était représentant sur la route. [The accused gave the impression of his victims he was representing on the road.] [Il] aurait pu agir par vengeance. [He could have acted out of revenge. Se sachant atteint de la maladie, il aurait décidé d'en faire payer le prix aux autres. [Knowing the disease, he decided to make it pay to others.]

Canada: Gay man in Ottawa accused of HIV exposure charged with attempted murder faces further charges (update 2)

Update: August 18 2010

The 29-year-old man gay accused of not disclosing his HIV-positive status to several men before otherwise consensual sex now faces 26 charges in Ottawa and further five charges in Kitchener according to the latest update from Canada's gay newspaper and online resource, Xtra.ca, which continues to report responsibly about the case by not disclosing the names of the accused, unlike the mainstream press.

According to court documents obtained by Xtra this week, the accused is now facing 26 charges: four counts of aggravated sexual assault, four counts attempt murder, five counts of sexual assault, eight counts of breaching probation, and one count of child pornography possession. He is also facing a total of five charges In Kitchener for similar offences, including three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two failure to comply with probation conditions.

A 24-year-old co-accused Kitchener man also accused of not disclosing his poz status is facing two charges of aggravated sexual assault. He and the Ottawa accused man allegedly had a foursome with two other men in Kitchener. He has been on house arrest  since May. His next court appearance is scheduled August 24.  The accused has a Kitchener bail hearing scheduled there via video link on Aug 27. He was arrested on May 6. By the time his next Ottawa Sept 9 court appearance happens, he will have spent more than four months behind bars.

Update: June 30 2010

The 29-year-old man gay accused of not disclosing his HIV-positive status to several men before otherwise consensual sex has had his charges upgraded to include attempted murder, according to a report in the Ottawa Citizen.

The four counts of attempted murder were laid against [name of man] in relation to four of his alleged victims. [The accused] has also been charged with four counts of administering a noxious substance — HIV — to the four men. It now brings the total number of charges against [the accused], who is still facing 14 charges of aggravated sexual assault as well as multiple counts of sexual assault and breach of probation, to 31. [The accused] also faces seven charges in Waterloo on similar accusations.
[He] was arrested in early May after an 18-year-old Ottawa man [allegedly] contracted HIV after the two had unprotected sex several times in January. A bail hearing for Boone, which began Tuesday, is expected to continue next week. The evidence presented during that hearing is subject to a publication ban.

This is the third person to face attempted murder charges in Canada since the murder trial of Johnson Aziga.

In related news, a few weeks ago, Xtra.ca ran an article explaining to HIV-positive, -negative, and untested gay men what the law in Canada actually means. In particular, it highlights that Canada's focus on non-disclosure is sending the wrong message: disclosure is "a lousy strategy for staying HIV-negative."

Only having sex with negative guys? Think again. “Is asking your partners if they have HIV before having bareback sex a good way to prevent HIV transmission? The answer is no,” says Murray Jose, executive director of PWA Toronto. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, according to the Canadian AIDS Society, about 20,000 Canadians — or 30 percent of Canada’s HIV population — are HIV-positive and don’t know it. Secondly, while most poz guys are committed to ensuring HIV ends with them, it’s a difficult subject to broach, meaning many people — whether poz or neg — have trouble discussing it, especially in the heat of the moment.

Original post: May 11 2010

The good news from Canada didn't last long. Within hours of the not guilty verdict in Vancouver, another gay man from Ottawa was being vilified in the press following an inappropriate press release from the Ottawa police.

Excellent work is being done following the intricacies of the case by Noreen Fagan and Neil McKinnon reporting for Xtra.ca.

They highlight the concerns amongst gay and HIV-positive advocates in Canada, and quote a regular blog reader, Michael Burtch, who is also a friend of the accused.

“It’s a witch hunt is what it has turned into. It’s very frightening for a lot of people in the HIV community to see what’s happening,” says Burtch. “The feedback that I have been getting from talking to people is that they feel as though it could just as easily be them. So there is I think a very strong swelling of support for [him] from the HIV positive community who feel a lot of empathy for his situation.”

Burtch is critical of the way the accused has been portrayed by the police and the mainstream media.

“Basically he is being presented as guilty before he has even had a trial. And all the actions that the police have taken are really just continuing to dilute the public health messages that practicing safer sex is everyone’s responsibility. I think we are really going to see that this is going to have a negative effect on testing in the city and its definitely going to have and effect on stigma and fear, discrimination and prejudice that HIV positive people are already dealing with on a daily basis.”

“I think that the Ottawa Police, despite their best intentions, have done a real disservice to the HIV community. And I am disappointed in the police liaison committee, I wish that they could have done more for him.”

Kathleen Cummings, the director of the AIDS Committee of Ottawa, agrees. She says that, while people may forget a name, they're more apt to remember a face. "This is going to affect him for life," she says.

Michael had previously been in touch to ask my permission to link to my blog in the invites to his annual birthday party fund- and consciousness-raising event, which takes place on May 20th.

On Thursday, May 20th, I'm hosting my annual Birthday Celebration.The party is in its third year and is a Birthday Celebration for yours truly, which doubles as an appreciation party for all my supporters who have donated cash, time, or talent to my numerous extra curricular activates as an activist and as a fundraiser.

This year's event is tackling sexual stigma and prejudice, homophobia, sex workers rights, and protesting the criminalization of HIV transmission. It will feature the photography of Pat Croteau, who will be showcasing nudes of local community members to raise funds for P.O.W.E.R. – Prostitutes of Ottawa/Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist. (tinyurl.com/POWERottawa).

He added in his email last Friday, informing me of his friend's arrest

I'm heart broken, and we here in Ottawa are rallying around him. Looks like my Birthday poster has taken on a whole new sense of urgency around here.

I fully support Michael's efforts, and really feel for the entire HIV community in Canada. These are terrible times.

Canada: Vancouver police hunt one man, add more charges to another

In Vancouver, two different men have been accused of not disclosing their HIV-positive status prior to sex with their female partners. Local media are having a field day.

The first, a Caucasian man in his late 20s, was arrested on May 19, according to a June 4th CBC News report following which North Vancouver police issued a press release that included the man's name and photo which appeared in news reports throughout Canada.

"Police have what is called a duty to warn when it comes to things like this and that is one reason we put out a name and photograph so quickly," [Const. Michael] McLaughlin told CBC News. "One of our primary responsibilities is keeping people safe, and enforcing the law goes along with that."

The fishing expedition has now turned up four further women who also claimed the accused did not disclose before sex, according to June 30th CBC News report that continues to carry the man's photo.

RCMP in North Vancouver are recommending four more charges of aggravated assault against [name of accused], who was first charged with the offence in May after police said he exposed his partner to the virus that causes AIDS without telling her. Since that charge was laid, four other women have come forward with enough evidence for investigators to recommend four more charges against [him], RCMP said in a release Wednesday.

The accused is out on bail "under court-imposed conditions that require him to tell any potential partners that he is HIV-positive."

Vancouver's tabloid, The Province, tells a rather different story - at least the headline appears to tell a different story.

Four more women say they were infected by HIV-positive man

Actually, no! They didn't. The actual story in The Province is very similar to CBC News' coverage - there is no mention of HIV-positive tests or accusations of infection.

The CBC and The Province coverage also includes the name (but not the photo) of a second man, a 38 year-old with an African name, from the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster. The man, who faces three counts of aggravated sexual assault for either not disclosing to one woman three times, or three women once, is presented by the police, and therefore the media, as a dangerous man on the loose.

CBC reports it this way

The offences date back to May of 2006 and there is a concern that [he] may have headed to Eastern Canada and will continue to have sex with women without telling them about his condition, police said.

The Province makes him seem much more like a calculated serial infector

New Westminster Mounties are hunting for 38-year-old [name of accused], who has been charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault after having sex with three women while knowing he was HIV-positive. Crown counsel has issued a Canada-wide warrant for [his] arrest, as police believe he may have traveled to eastern Canada. The offenses he is charged with date back to May 2006, and police are concerned [he] may plan to put more women at risk.

These BC 'name, shame and create fear' cases are in direct contrast to the recent Vancouver court case where the accused was acquitted, and where the judge ordered a publication ban on the name of both the accuser and the accused.

They also contrast with a recent case in Edmonton, Alberta, analysed in an April 23rd Xtra.ca story, where a 50-year-old HIV-positive man was charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegedly failing to disclose his status to his female partner.

The piece quotes a police spokeswoman who explains that they did not release name or photo of the accused in order to protect the man's partner.

“Releasing any details would without a doubt identify the victim. We are not releasing the name of the accused strictly to protect the identity of the victim. This is not a case of an unknown male with HIV forcing sex on women. The sexual intercourse in this case was consensual. However, the male failed to inform the woman that he was infected with HIV."

In this case the accused man was released from custody with a trial set for March 2011.

US: Indiana teenager arrested for non-disclosure

A 19 year-old girl from Frankfort, Indiana has been arrested and held in the county jail because a 22 year-old man she met on MySpace claims he had unprotected sex with her last month and that she did not tell him she was HIV-positive until she knew him a little bit better.

A Clinton County teenager is accused of lying about having HIV to someone with whom she had unprotected sexual intercourse on numerous occasions. [Name of girl], 19, of Frankfort was charged Friday with four counts of violation or failure of carrier's duty to warn persons at risk -- a Class D felony because investigators believe the nondisclosure was intentional. The offense begins as a Class B misdemeanor.

"They have a duty under Indiana law, anytime they are going to engage in high-risk sexual activity" to tell their partners, Clinton County Prosecutor Tony Sommer said. In Indiana, communicable diseases that must be disclosed are AIDS, HIV and hepatitis B. [Name] was being held Tuesday afternoon on a $2,800 cash bond in the Clinton County Jail, jail staff said.

Full story – complete with her name, photo and the usual warning about "more victims" from the local prosecutor, Tony Sommer, at jconline.com

I am so incredibly sick and tired of stories like these coming from the United States. Who is the victim here? She now faces up to three years in prison following her trial, tentatively set for Septmeber 14th.

Detectives with the Frankfort Police Department began investigating in early June, after a 22-year-old male said he slept with [name] and that he recently learned [name] has HIV. According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the charges, the man met [name] on the social networking site MySpace on May 26. The 22-year-old told investigators he had heard a rumor that [name] had AIDS or HIV. But after asking her, [name] allegedly lied. The two had sexual intercourse on May 29 and three to four times the following week. The man told investigators he was again told on June 5 that [name] had HIV and confronted her. This time, [name] admitted she has HIV. Sommer said the man was expected to get tested soon.

So, he relies on disclosure to protect himself from HIV, doesn't wear a condom, and then goes running to the police. Come on! Can you imagine how hard it must be for a 19 year-old girl to disclose her HIV-positive status to someone she's only just met, and how easy it must be for a 22 year-old man to take responsibility for himself and wear a condom.

Canada: Another gay man in Ontario accused of nondisclosure

A 42-year-old man from Brampton, Ontario has been charged with aggravated sexual assault after a 26 year-old man claimed he did not disclose his HIV status before they had sex.

The story is from the National Post, but the case is also being covered by local media in Ontario primarily because the police have issued a statement that serves as both a public health warning and a 'fishing expedition' for more complainants.

Investigators say they believe [the man] has been aware of his HIV-positive status for approximately seven years. Police further say he has had intimate contact with other adults and failed to disclose his status to them.Police are issuing a public safety advisory and appealing for others to come forward. They urge anyone who has had intimate contact with [the man] to call them immediately, and to seek medical attention.

At least he wasn't charged with attempted murder. The man will next appear in court on December 21.

Canada: Young gay man arrested for not disclosing to older ex

A 21 year-old gay man from New Westminster (a suburb of Vancouver, BC) has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault after his older ex-boyfriend complained to the police that he hadn't disclosed his (recently-diagnosed) HIV status before they both had consensual unprotected sex.

The case, reported in several local newspapers, is a perfect example of how Canada's criminal HIV exposure law has the potential do more harm than good.

The Vancouver Sun reports

[Name of man], 21, was told by his doctor that he was HIV positive, but he failed to tell his much older partner about his diagnosis prior to having unprotected sex with him, New Westminster police said in a press release.

"I think [the partner] was about 15 years older," Staff Sgt. Paul Milne told The Vancouver Sun. "They are no longer in a relationship."

[...]

"This is the first [case like this] that I've heard of in my career," Milne said.

The New Westminster Police Major Crime Unit are asking anyone who had unprotected sex with [man's name] to contact Det. Tina Chan at xxx-xxx-xxx.

The report in The Province does not mention that both complainant and accused are men, and adds the following

Police say they are "concerned for the health and safety of the public and urge any potential victim to come forward so that appropriate health measures can be taken."

Taken together the reports (and the law) suggest that unprotected sex amongst gay men is

• incredibly rare;
• that the HIV-positive person is 100% responsible for safer sex;
• and that this is a Major Crime that places the public at risk.
  

Humbug to all of that!

A recent meta-analysis of the prevalence of unprotected anal sex amongst HIV-positive gay men in the United States published in the August 24th edition of AIDS (and reported on aidsmap.com here) found that one-in-four HIV-positive gay men have reported unprotected sex with a man who was HIV-negative or of unknown HIV status. There's no reason to believe that the prevalence in Canada will be any different.

This a public health issue, not a criminal one; the law does not change sexual behaviour.

Picking on unlucky individuals who are brought to the attention of the police due to a complaint from a disgruntled ex (who should know better) does nothing to prevent HIV transmission in Greater Vancouver's gay community.

In fact, by suggesting that this man's behaviour is rare, and that HIV-positive gay men usually disclose their status before unprotected sex, they are doing more harm than good to the public health.

It would make much more sense for the reports (and the law) to highlight that you cannot know, or assume, that your partner is HIV-negative because either they will not know their true HIV status or because they will not tell you.

Canada: Toronto man arrested for unprotected sex with woman

A 28 year-old man from Toronto has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault after he allegedly had unprotected sex with a woman without disclosing his HIV status.

In what has become an unnervingly commonplace consequence of an arrest for HIV exposure in Canada, Toronto police have provided the man's name and photo to local media because "they are worried there may be more victims". It also conviently serves as a 'fishing expedition' for more complainants without the police having to do too much.

Police are releasing [the man]'s photo and urging anyone who has had sexual contact with him to seek medical advice and contact police.

According to the report in the Toronto Star, the man, who was diagnosed in 2005, corresponded with the complainant online for four years before they met for what appears to be a one-night stand.

Although the report does not explain the other charges, he is also charged with "two counts of failing to comply with probation and one count of common nuisance."

Canada: Two more arrests as Xtra analyses criminalisation laws

In the past few weeks, there have been two further arrests in Canada for sex without condoms and disclosure. In Alberta, a 32 year-old Calgary man faces eleven counts of aggravated sexual assault based on a short-lived relationship he had with a woman over a couple of weeks: he was charged for each time they had sex. And in Ontario, police issued a warning/'fishing expedition' to women who may have had sex with a 32 year-old Peel man who they arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault and sexual interference for having sex with someone under-age.

In the first of two articles to be published in Canada's GLBT paper, Xtra, Dale Smith examines the issues facing HIV-positive Canadians (including those who may be unaware they are infected) as arrests and prosecutions continue unabated.

The Xtra article includes interviews with Alison Symington, senior policy analyst with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network; Glenn Betteridge, a legal and policy analyst who has done work with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network; Isabel Grant, law professor at the University of British Columbia; and Barry Adam, senior scientist and director of prevention research with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network.

Highlights include these quotes:

“Canada was one of the first countries to start laying charges with respect to HIV exposure or transmission. It was the first Supreme Court in the world that had ever considered the issue.”

Alison Symington on Canada's role as world leader in criminalisation.

“We’re starting to understand more and more about the likelihood of transmission of HIV, and it’s not as high as I think some people assume that it is. Particularly if there’s anti-retroviral medications, it’s not immediately obvious that one act of sexual intercourse is likely to cause someone’s death. I think it’s a real stretch to make this murder, not only on policy grounds, but also on the narrow interpretation of Section 231.”

Isabel Grant on the lack of relevance between sexual HIV transmission and Section 231, which says that death as a result of aggravated sexual assault becomes first-degree murder.

“My worry is that the courts’ fixation on the issue of disclosure presumes that they’re discouraging transmission, but I don’t think that it works out in real life quite the way they think it does. People who disclose actually have a poorer record of safe sex than those who don’t, and [that] makes a certain amount of sense because disclosure is about trying to figure out if you can sero-sort or not, to find out if the other person is the same sero-status that you are. It becomes an invitation for unsafe sex.”

Barry Adam on why mandating disclosure is harmful.

“The law says that if you are suspicious, and you deliberately close your mind to the possibility of finding out, that’s considered wilful blindness and we treat you the same way as if you know. In this context, let’s say I’m not going to get tested for HIV because I really don’t want to know if I have it, because then nobody can charge me for passing it on. If that suspicion arises in your mind, and you deliberately close your mind to finding out, the law says you’re just as blame worthy.”

Barry Adam on not testing to avoid prosecution.

To read the full article on the Xtra website, click here.

Canada: Hamilton woman pleads guilty to HIV exposure

A 28 year-old woman from the same Ontario town as Johnson Aziga yesterday pleaded guilty of one count of aggravated sexual assault for not disclosing her HIV status to a man she met for a one-night stand in 2007. She will be sentenced in August.

The case was reported today in The Toronto Star and highlights the real problems HIV-positive Canadians are facing due to the current oppressive, discriminatory – and ultimately harmful – legal obligation to disclose before sex. When the woman was arrested in March 2007, police held a press conference saying the woman posed "huge threat". According to the CBC website on the day of the press conference:

Det. Joseph De Lottinville called [the woman] "a huge threat" to public safety, amid police fears that she deliberately slept [my italics] with a number of people without revealing that she had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Police allege that [she] has known of her HIV status since March 2003, but didn't follow the legal requirement that people with HIV disclose the condition to sexual partners.

Officers said [she] is believed to have frequented several bars in the Greater Toronto Area, specifically in Hamilton, Brantford and Toronto, particularly in its downtown Entertainment District.

More than 10 men who allegedly had sexual contact with her are being interviewed by police.

This is phrased slightly differently on CityNews.ca, published the same day:

The 26-year-old from Hamilton was arrested on Sunday and police are alerting the public of her case. They allege she deliberately withheld [my italics] her important health information in order to have sex with men she met in bars in and around the GTA.

Detectives say [the woman] frequented bars in Hamilton, Brantford and Toronto on a regular basis and had sex with men she met at those establishments. She was diagnosed with HIV four years ago.

[She] deliberately failed to tell [my italics] one Toronto man about her HIV-status, according to police, and allegedly did the same to other men in order to have sex with them, often unprotected. Authorities are urging anyone who's had sex with her to seek medical attention immediately.

"From what we've learned, she will disclose it sometimes and she won't disclose it on other times," Det. Joseph De Lottenville said Thursday.

The use of 'deliberate' in these different ways is really interesting. The first allegation that she "deliberately slept with a number of people without revealing that she had HIV" suggests that she intended to infect these men. However the second allegations, that she "deliberately failed to tell" one man that she had a one-night stand with that she was HIV-positive, is purely about nondisclosure. The knee-jerk reaction of the police was to create the myth of a female 'HIV predator' when the reality was that she and another man agreed to have (or probably did not even discuss) unprotected sex, putting themselves equally at risk - she of infecting another to HIV, he of becoming infected with HIV. I assume the man had the capacity to protect himself. Did he really need to be specifically warned about the risks? Why, then, is he is not held responsible for putting himself at risk?

And so, even after police released the woman's name and photo for their 'fishing expedition', and even after interviewing more than ten of her other past sexual partners, she was still only charged with one count of aggravated sexual assault for nondisclosure. How then was this woman "a huge threat"? Aren't the ten or more men who slept with her without using condoms who will have gone on to sleep with others, much more of a threat?

New Zealand: 'HIV predator' is named; seventh complainant adds further charges

The man dubbed the 'HIV predator' had his name and face splashed all over New Zealand's media today in what has become the biggest criminal HIV transmission case in NZ history. There are now seven complainants (six men, one woman) of whom five are alleging that the man was source of their HIV infection.

As well as his name and several photos, today's report on GayNZ.com includes many of the details left out of their earlier reporting, including his online dating profile nicknames and the name of the street he lived on in Auckland. They also highlight that HIV testing centres are anticipating a rise in HIV testing today and over the weekend as people recognise the man. But surely this is as much a 'fishing expedition' as a public health warning.

Today's story on TVNZ.com includes a quote from Bruce Kilmister, chief executive of NZ's PLHIV organisation, Body Positive

[Kilmister] said the alleged charges significantly changed a lot of people's lives. "Everybody who has had an association with him in the past should come forward for a test. But it's also a timely reminder that everybody has a responsibility to keep themselves safe and follow safe sex practice. HIV positive people have an added responsibility not to transmit the virus, and the best way they can do that is to have safe sex."

To put the case into perspective, according to data from New Zealand's Ministry of Health (AIDS New Zealand Issue 63 – March 2009 ) only 184 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in 2008 – of whom 91 were acquired via sex between men, but only 70% of these were acquired in New Zealand, most of whom lived in Auckland – and this was the highest number ever recorded. Since there are now five gay men (aged between 17 and 31) who claim the accused man infected them, this 'cluster' alone would represent around 8% of new diagnoses.

Adding to the panic is the 19 year-old female complainant (who has not tested positive). Between 1999-2008 there were only 52 women diagnosed with HIV that was heterosexually acquired in New Zealand. The TVNZ article continues

The fact a woman had allegedly been affected raised concerns the virus may have spread into the heterosexual community. "The reality is that most women think of the pill as the beginning and end of safe sex. It needs to be a message that goes right across the broad spectrum," [said Kilmister.]

If this man is the source of five (or possibly more) infections, this certainly is a public health concern, and the criminal justice system involvement is, indeed, a result of the failure of public health. The call for new and better public health laws in New Zealand are understandable, and certainly would be better than the current system which required media and CJS intervention.

However, last year the NZ Ministry of Health published a study examining HIV prevalence in New Zealand, both diagnosed and undiagnosed (AIDS New Zealand Issue 62 - November 2008) which found a prevalence of 4.4% amongst men who have sex with men attending sexual health clinics, of whom only half were diagnosed. Undiagnosed people can't disclose – and cannot be publically (or even privately) named and shamed as a way to warn others about specifically avoiding them. Undiagnosed people may also be having as much – or more – 'promiscuous' sex as the so-called 'HIV predator'.

Earlier in the week, TVNZ ran an in-depth look at the case and interviewed Michael Stevens, the man who orginally brought the allegations to GayNZ.com and Simon Harger-Forde, director of HIV prevention at New Zealand AIDS Foundation. It makes for uncomfortable viewing by making patient confidentiality appear to be something bad, and conflating two issues (non-disclosure resulting in HIV exposure or transmisison being a criminally liable act and the lack of an effective public health response) without any examination of the issue of shared responsibility for sexual health. Only at the very end does Mr Harger-Forde say that laws don't protect anyone, and that everyone should be using condoms.



Finally, an interesting blog posting from a feminist commentator, which highlights other concerns - that this case will end up leading to further stigmatisation of gay men and people living with HIV in New Zealand, and concludes:

Safe sex is crucial, of course, but it's also crucial that the ... case doesn't become an exercise in victim-blaming, with homophobic overtones. And it's also important that [his] behaviour doesn't prompt a backlash against HIV positive people, who have the same needs for affection, companionship and intimacy as the rest of us.

Canada: Another attempted murder charge for HIV nondisclosure; rally planned in Ottawa

A 46 year-old bisexual Toronto man has become the second man in Canada to be charged with attempted murder following allegations that he did not disclose his HIV status before having unprotected sex.

According to a Toronto Police Service news release quoted on Xtra.ca

"the accused had unprotected sexual intercourse on multiple occasions after being informed that he was HIV-positive in March 2009" and that although the charges stem from sex the accused had with a woman "his partners may have been in both the gay and heterosexual communities."

The Montreal Gazette quotes Constable Wendy Drummond, who provides an emotive, rather than legal, reason for the attempted murder charges.

"We're dealing with somebody's health. This could ultimately lead to somebody's demise, to their death."

The man actually faces one count each of attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon - all of the charges are based on him not telling his female partner that he had recently tested HIV-positive and continuing to have unprotected sex with her.

As has become common practice amongst Canadian investigations, police have released a photo of the man, claiming public health interests. However, it is obviously a fishing expedition for more complainants (the more complainants, the more likely charges will stick).

CityNews.ca interprets this as follows:

Police allege that [the accused] is a menace to society. And even though they now have him in custody, they're not sure everyone who had contact with him is still safe.

The 46-year-old (top left) is accused of having unprotected sex, despite knowing that he'd been diagnosed with HIV last March. As a result, authorities have charged him with attempted murder, aggravated sexual assault, assault causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.

Cops know of at least one person who had sexual contact with him without knowing his status. But they say [he] was known to hang around in Toronto's gay and straight communities, and they're worried he may have had similar relationships with people who may not be aware of his past.

If he's crossed your path, seek medical treatment as soon as possible, and contact police at (416) xxx-xxxx or Crime Stoppers at (416) xxx-xxxx.

Interestingly, however, the Montreal Gazette story doesn't buy it. Although they quote Constable Drummond...

"We make their names and images known to the public out of concern that they may have had relations with other people, and may have infected other people."

...they also include the counterpoint of Richard Elliott, executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

"Police say they're public safety notices," he said. "But it's a police tactic. They're using the releases as an investigative tool, to build a case against the accused."

What's worse, he said, is that actions like this feed into the "very persistent stigma related to HIV and people with it. It creates this image of a person with HIV as a public-health menace. This just perpetuates the misinformation, fear, hysteria and prejudice that has always surrounded HIV."

Exactly.

RALLY IN OTTAWA, CANADA

In response to this, and other draconian measures taken by police and prosecutors against HIV-positve individuals, a grassroots collision of concerned community groups and individuals in Ottawa, fuelled by anger, and inspired by hope, have come together to condemn the criminalization of HIV. They will be rallying in Canada's capital, Ottawa, next Wednesday June 10th 2009, between 12:30pm - 1:30pm, meeting at Parliament Hill in front of the eternal flame.

For more information visit their the Facebook event page: Stop The Criminalization of HIV Positive People!

Canada: Gay man charged with attempted murder for HIV non-disclosure

In an escalation of the usual charges facing people in Canada for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status before unprotected sex, a 28 year-old Toronto man is now facing attempted murder as well as aggravated assault charges.

How do we know this? Because the Toronto police held a press conference, making it appear as if the man was some kind of serial killer. Xtra.ca reports:

"We have reason to believe he attended Church and Wellesley and may have actually engaged in sexual activities without disclosing his HIV status," said Const Brad Stapleton of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit at a May 7 press conference.

There appears to be no evidence of this, but according to the Globe and Mail:

"We are appealing to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. If you had any contact with this male, contact the Toronto sex crime unit," Constable Stapleton said.

A more obvious fishing expedition is hard to imagine (it was issued under the smokescreen of a 'public safety alert'). There's scant information from any of the Toronto papers that ran stories, most of which published the man's name and photo. The most detailed is from the aforementioned G&M:

Police laid charges after the alleged victim, who is said to have met [the man] on an Internet dating service, came forward. Police believe [he] has had sexual relations with additional people in which he did not disclose his status. Constable Stapleton said [the man] has known he was HIV positive since 2000 and has been a regular in the Church and Wellesley area for the past five years...He wouldn't elaborate on the charges or say whether the alleged victim contracted HIV from [the accused man].

The man is due in court in Toronto for a bail hearing tomorrow.

US: Florida woman accused of HIV exposure

A woman from Florida has been arrested (and named and shamed) for not disclosing that she was HIV-positive before having sex with three men. She is charged under Florida's HIV disclosure law for every time she had sex with the men - seven times.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, she was first arrested on February 5th following a complaint from a man

who alleged he had consensual sex with [the woman] but did not know she was HIV positive.After a second alleged victim told officials said he "had consensual sex with [the woman] but did not know about the disease,'' she was arrested, a report said.

She was charged with "four counts of unlawful acts, one charge for every sexual encounter."

Following media coverage of her first arrest, she was arrested again last week after another man came forward.

[He] said he was in a three-month relationship with [the woman] while living at the apartment complex [she] managed, a news release [from the Osceola County Sheriff's Office] today said. "At no time during the relationship did [the woman] disclose to the victim she was HIV positive. [She] was booked into the Osceola County Jail and has since been released on bond,'' the statement said.

Enough of these non-crimes, already!

New Zealand: African migrant charged with criminal HIV transmission

A 34 year-old HIV-positive New Zealand citizen originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo is under investigation following accusations that he did not disclose his HIV status before having unprotected sex with an Aukland woman, who is now HIV-positive.

According to the report from stuff.co.nz, police are now on a fishing expedition to see if there are any other complainants.

Detective Sergeant Peter Litherland of the Waitakere CIB says the case should serve as a warning to other HIV carriers "who are prepared to fully ignore their responsibilities to adopt safe sexual practices"....

The charges against him span the two years to April 2008, but police would not say whether he was in a relationship with the woman when the alleged offending occurred. Police also refused to say how the matter came to their attention.

The report adds that the woman is "understood to have a newborn baby; it is not known whether the virus has been transmitted to her child."

The man is now in custody "awaiting his next court appearance. He first appeared in Waitakere District Court earlier this month on charges of criminal nuisance and recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, and faces a maximum of eight years in prison. He has entered no plea."

The report also includes quite a lot detail to the history of HIV prosecutions in New Zealand.

Just seven men have been convicted in similar cases in New Zealand courts.

The first conviction came in 1994, when Kenyan musician Peter Mwai was sentenced to seven years' prison for having unprotected sex with five women, and infecting two. He was released in 1998, deported, and died in Uganda three months later.

A 2005 decision involving Justin William Dalley, 36, of Lower Hutt, who kept his HIV status secret from two women he slept with, set a significant legal precedent.

Dalley did not wear a condom with the first woman and for this he was sentenced to 300 hours of community work and six months' supervision; he was also ordered to pay the woman $1000 in costs.

But he did wear a condom with the second woman. The judge considered this to be taking "reasonable precautions" and acquitted him on those charges. This meant HIV-positive people could choose not to tell sexual partners about the virus, as long as they wore a condom.

UK: Man arrested for unprotected sex with several women

A 39 year-old man from Bournemouth has been arrested and released on police bail following complaints from several women in Exmouth, East Devon that he did not disclose his HIV status to them before they had consensual unprotected sex.

The case was first reported in Saturday's Western Morning News with the unbelievably stigmatising headline: The HIV Timebomb.

A spokesman yesterday said: "Devon and Cornwall Police can confirm a number of women have come forward regarding allegations of their having had unprotected sex with a man who they now believe to be HIV positive. They allege he failed to disclose this to them."

Unprotected sex without disclosure is a not a crime in England & Wales and police should not be arresting individuals based on complaints of unprotected sex.

Since then, various other papers and websites have run stories about the case, including This is Exeter (complete with quotes from local councilors - why exactly?) and, of course, the Daily Mail, which managed to totally misrepresent THT's Lisa Power, who would never have "urged possible victims to contact police" in a million years.

This looks like a witch hunt to me (and to other UK HIV advocates with whom I am in touch), and is, sadly, another example of how the police get it wrong.

The man has been released on police bail until May 11. Let's hope that the police fishing expedition, reminiscent of the case of a London woman in 2006, not only comes to nothing, but that the police are made aware of their serious errors.

Canada: Googling results in HIV exposure arrest

A former male sex worker who helped other young men get off the Toronto streets, and whose life and work was highlighted in a CBC Radio documentary, has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault (for HIV exposure) after a former male sexual partner searched for his name on the internet and discovered he was HIV-positive.

According to reports in the Toronto Sun and Hamilton Spectator, it is alleged that the man had not disclosed his HIV status prior to unprotected sex, although the complainant is not HIV-positive.

He was arrested last week in Nova Scotia, and returned to Hamilton, Ontario – where Johnson Aziga is currently on trial – where he was charged with aggravated sexual assault and released on bail last Thursday.

Hamilton police are now actively fishing for more complainants; they are asking anyone who had sex with the man since 2003 (when he was diagnosed) to contact them. Both papers have provided plenty of information to help the police with this extremely unethical request, which is disguised as a public health message.

Hamilton Police sexual assault branch Det. Duncan McCulloch is urging anyone who had relations with [xxxx], who lived in Toronto until 2008, to get checked to determine if they had been exposed.
McCulloch stressed anyone who had intimate contact with the suspect to undergo medical tests.
"Go to a doctor. Let me make that absolutely clear," he said. "Get yourself checked first and if they want to make a complaint, I'll certainly be the fellow to do whatever it needs to do the investigation.
"If it's outside my jurisdiction, I'll get them to who they need to be," he said.
McCulloch can be reached at xxx-xxxx-xxx.
"I believe it to be very serious," McCulloch said. "Anyone who may have had intimate contact with [....] could have been exposed to HIV and may not know it."

US: Michigan woman second to face HIV exposure charges in Kalamazoo within a month

Update: Dec 9th

Ms Williams was sentenced to time served, 68 days, and placed on probation for five years by Judge Pamela L. Lightvoet. She had pleaded guilty in November to one count of failing to tell sexual partners she had tested positive for HIV.

Original post

A 36 year-old woman has been charged under Michigan's HIV exposure laws for failing to inform two of her sexual partners of her status before the men had sex with her without using condoms. (Putting it that way does make the law seem absurd, doesn't it?)

This is second HIV exposure case in the small southwestern Michigan city (pop 71, 145) in three weeks. Last month, a 25 year-old Kalamazoo man was also accused on two counts of breaking HIV exposure laws in 2005. A police fishing expedition has now resulted in two more complainants from 2004 coming out of the woodwork.

The woman is now the subject of a similar fishing expedition.

Each charge carries a maximum prison term of four years.

Kalamazoo woman with HIV is the second person to face charges within a month
Rex Hall Jr.
Kalamazoo Gazette
October 08, 2008

A Kalamazoo woman faces felony charges for allegedly failing to tell two of her sexual partners that she has tested positive for carrying HIV.

Bobbi Jo Williams, 36, was arraigned Monday in Kalamazoo County District Court on two counts of having sex with an uninformed partner, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety. She was being held in the county jail on $5,000 cash bond, Detective Sgt. Karianne Thomas said.

It is the second such arrest in the Kalamazoo area in less than a month.

In September, Travis Kurtz, 25, of Kalamazoo, was charged with two counts of failing to notify sexual partners that he is HIV-positive. The incidents allegedly occurred in 2005. Kurtz also was charged with two additional counts Oct. 1 for alleged incidents in 2004.

Williams is scheduled to be back in court Oct. 15 for a hearing regarding evidence against her. Kurtz's hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Police ask those who have information about Williams or believe they are victims to call KDPS at xxx-xxxx or Silent Observer at xxx-xxxx, or go online to the Silent Observer Web site.

US: Michigan man accused of HIV exposure, underage sex, tattooing without disclosure

A 32 year-old Michigan man has been arrested under the State's HIV exposure laws, following a complaint from two women. Widespread publicity - including local media publishing his name and photo - and a police 'fishing expedition' has unearthed two further complainants, both of whom also under 16.

The case highlights many problems with HIV exposure laws, and the way that the privacy of HIV-positive individuals is being invaded through these laws. The media coverage also smacks of moral panic - as if it were totally unheard-of for an HIV-positive person to have unprotected sex without disclosure.

Adding to the complex nature of this particular case is the fact that the man was out on parole (for an unrelated crime) and may have been subject to mandatory HIV testing and subsequent HIV disclosure to local public health authorities. He also worked as a tattooist, and the Michigan police and local TV station journalists also appear to suffer from a stupefying amount of prejudice, stigma and ignorance regarding how HIV is transmitted.

Investigators say Gerald Campbell Jr., 32, of Crystal, didn't inform four women before having sex with them, and potentially 20 others before giving them tattoos. Police say they are not sure if the tattoo needles Campbell used are dirty, but the implications are there.

"I wish that it would just go away," one victim told 24 Hour News 8. "I'm frustrated, angry that he couldn't say nothing to nobody about it."

The woman says she got a tattoo in July and just found out the man who gave it to her is Campbell. She said he never told her about his infection.

Three reports below.

Man faces trial for hiding HIV infection from partners
Friday, September 05, 2008

By Pat Shellenbarger

The Grand Rapids Press

A Montcalm County man released from prison a year ago after serving 14 years for assault with intent to commit murder now is jailed on charges he had sex with two women without telling them he is HIV-positive.

Following a preliminary hearing this week, Gerald Ray Campbell Jr., 32, of Crystal, was ordered to stand trial on four counts of violating a 1988 state law requiring anyone infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, to disclose that information before engaging in sex.

A Carson City woman and a Hubbardston woman testified in Montcalm County District Court on Tuesday that Campbell did not warn them of his infection before having sex with them. A preliminary blood test for the Carson City woman came back negative, but public health officials said it can take as much as six months for the virus to reach detectable levels. The Hubbardston woman did not yet have the results of a blood test taken earlier this week.

Until last September, Campbell was in prison since 1993. At the age of 17, he pleaded no contest to randomly firing a rifle at cars passing his home on East Stanton Road in Crystal Township, wounding a Fenwick man in the shoulder.

Campbell was paroled on Sept. 25, 2007, but was in jail on a parole violation when the allegations surfaced that he exposed the women to HIV, Carson City Police Chief Jeff Hilliker said.

While investigating a theft case, Hilliker stopped by the home of the Carson City woman, he said.

The woman, in her early 30s, told him she recently had received a registered letter from the Central Michigan District Health Department in Mount Pleasant warning she might have been exposed to HIV and urging her to be tested.

While the letter did not name the person who might have exposed her, the woman told Hilliker she had met Campbell at a grocery store last February, and the two began a sexual relationship in March. She also told Hilliker of the second woman, who confirmed she, too, had a sexual relationship with Campbell.

"I went to the jail, and he admitted everything," Hilliker said, but added that Campbell claimed he had advised both women of his HIV status.

It is unclear how the health department learned of Campbell's HIV and the potential exposure of the Carson City woman, but all inmates coming into the state's prisons are tested for the infection. When an inmate tests positive, the Corrections Department notifies the state Department of Community Health.

Hilliker said Campbell apparently told the health officials he had been having sex with the Carson City woman.

Hilliker urged anyone who had unprotected sex with Campbell to be tested for HIV and contact the Carson City police at (989) 584-3515.

Campbell is facing four counts of violating the state AIDS Disclosure Law -- two counts for each woman, Montcalm County Prosecutor Andrea Krause said.

Each count normally carries a penalty of four years in prison and a $2,000 fine, but, since Campbell is charged as a habitual offender, he could face as many as six years in prison on each of the four counts.

Krause said Campbell is the first person to be prosecuted in Montcalm County for violating the AIDS Disclosure Law. The first person charged under the law pleaded no contest in Lake County in 1991.

Man with HIV arrested for not telling sex partners
Sep 5, 2008
WoodTV.com

CARSON CITY, Mich. -- What started as a tip to health officials has led to a criminal investigation.

A man who is HIV positive has been arrested for not telling his sex partners and people he gave tattoos about his infection. Police in Carson City say the case is snowballing and the victim list keeps growing.

Investigators say Gerald Campbell Jr., 32, of Crystal, didn't inform four women before having sex with them, and potentially 20 others before giving them tattoos. Police say they are not sure if the tattoo needles Campbell used are dirty, but the implications are there.

"I wish that it would just go away," one victim told 24 Hour News 8. "I'm frustrated, angry that he couldn't say nothing to nobody about it."

The woman says she got a tattoo in July and just found out the man who gave it to her is Campbell. She said he never told her about his infection.

She is not alone.

"Sit there and watch them break down, watch family members break down. There's no words to describe it. It's undescribable (sic)," Carson City Police Chief Jeff Hilliker said.

Investigators say all these victims have been in the dark about Campbell having HIV. Not even his family knew.

"It's a surprise. I didn't know he had AIDS," said Campbell's grandmother.

Investigators have been learning more about Campbell who has a criminal record. He got out of prison last year after serving 15 years for assault with intent to murder.

Officials from area health departments were on a conference call Friday. They are now urging people who have come into contact with Campbell to call police and get tested for AIDS.

"I urge people to think they'll always pass it on. I suppose not every encounter is going to result in an infection but you're playing Russian roulette when you have sex with someone who is HIV positive," said Dr. Robert Graham of the Mid-Michigan District Health Department.

The Mid-Michigan District Health Department is urging anyone who may have had unprotected sex with Campbell to be tested for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. They can call (989) 831-3615 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. to schedule an appointment for a free, anonymous and confidential consultation.

Crystal AIDS man hit with more charges
Elisabeth Waldon
The Daily News/WZZM.com
September 12 2008

STANTON - A Crystal resident who earlier was charged with having sex with two women without telling them that he had AIDS was charged Wednesday with having sex with two underage girls.

Gerald Ray Campbell Jr., 32, originally was charged with two counts of AIDS sexual penetration with an uninformed partner and one count of being a habitual offender involving women from Carson City and Hubbardston.

On Wednesday, Campbell was arraigned in 64B District Court and charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of AIDS sexual penetration with an uninformed partner involving girls from Belding and Crystal.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and faces a jury trial at a later date. Campbell faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Finland: Young man sentenced to ten years for HIV transmission, exposure

A 25 year-old Finnish man, who has been HIV-positive since 16, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for five counts of aggravated assault (criminal HIV transmission), 14 counts of attempted aggravated assault (criminal HIV exposure), and one count of rape. He will also have to pay the 21 female complainants a total of €330,000 (£263,000/$485,000) in damages.

I first reported the case in April, when Aki Hakkarainen was found guilty.

The case has been widely reported globally, including the International Herald Tribune, as well as in Thailand, New Zealand, and criminalisation-crazy Canada.

The most detailed reports come from the international edidtion of Finland's Helsingin Sanomat. I include three here, in reverse chronological order: the sentencing report; the pre-sentencing hearing; and a report, from last year, about the impact of the police publishing his name and photograph throughout Finland in a 'fishing expedition' masquerading as a public health exercise.

Rovaniemi HIV case brings 10-year custodial sentence and over EUR 300,000 in damages
Helsingin Sanomat
25.8.2008

The Rovaniemi District Court today handed down a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment on Aki Matti Hakkarainen, 25, who was found guilty of having intentionally spread HIV through unprotected sex with several women.

The sentence was passed on 14 counts of attempted aggravated assault, five counts of aggravated assault, and one count of rape.

The sexual encounters all took place between between 1999 and 2004, in spite of the fact that Hakkarainen knew he had contracted HIV at the age of sixteen.

Hakkarainen was also ordered to pay compensation to his victims totalling around EUR 330,000.

The victims were slightly disappointed by the judgement, as they had sought nearly half a million euros in damages from the defendant.

The court ordered Hakkarainen to pay for permanent harm caused to several of the women with whom he had had unprotected sex. One woman is to receive 55,000 euros, and four others 45,000 euros each.

Further payments are called for to compensate for the mental trauma caused, with sums varying in this case from EUR 600 to EUR 8,000 per victim.

The prison term was lengthened by an earlier suspended sentence that the court now ordered to be put into effect.

The court had ruled earlier this month that Hakkarainen was fit to be tried and sentenced for the offences, after a psychiatric examination had been carried out in July. In its interim ruling, the court had stated that the man was found guilty of transmitting HIV intentionally to at least five women. In addition, he had had unprotected sex with another 16 women, exposing them to possible infection.

The prosecutor had called for a minimum sentence of 12 years' imprisonment.

Court action against HIV man continues in Rovaniemi
Helsingin Sanomat
13.8.2008

The legal proceedings against a 25-year-old man suspected of having intentionally spread HIV through unprotected sex with several women continued today in the city of Rovaniemi in Northern Finland.

The District Court examined the results of the psychiatric examination that was ordered for the suspect and completed last month, and deemed that the defendant was in a fit mental state to be sentenced for the offences.

In its interim ruling the court had stated previously that the man was found guilty of transmitting HIV intentionally to at least five women. In addition, he had had unprotected sex with another 16 women, exposing them to possible infection.

The prosecutor has called for a minimum sentence of 12 years' imprisonment. The maximum permissible sentence under the law would be 13 years. A judgement will be handed down on August 25th.

The man engaged in unprotected sex with numerous women between the years of 1999 and 2004, in spite of the fact that he knew he had contracted HIV at the age of sixteen. The unprotected intercourse took place in Rovaniemi, Jyväskylä, and Äänekoski.

The case attracted some attention late last year, when police published a photograph of the man and disclosed his name - something seldom done before trial - in order that other sexual partners who might have been infected could be reached.

Publishing photo of HIV man leads to discovery of yet another HIV-positive victim from years ago
Helsingin Sanomat
10.10.2007

The police's radical step of going public with the photograph of a 24-year-old Rovaniemi man suspected of having intentionally spread HIV through unprotected sex has led to four new women voluntarily coming forward as suspected victims. In the first tests one of them has indicated positive for the virus.

"After having seen the photograph, the woman approached the police and was tested for HIV. It turned out that the woman, born in 1980, has unknowingly been HIV positive since 2003. Now she will receive treatment", explains Chief Inspector Jukka Haataja from the Rovaniemi police.

Of the last four women who have come forward, three are from the city of Rovaniemi in Northern Finland near the Arctic Circle, and one is from the south of the country. Three of the women were on the police list of suspected victims.

Twenty-two of Aki Hakkarainen’s victims have filed a report of an offence against him. Three of them have contracted the HI-virus, and the first test of a further two proved positive. These two have to wait for the results of the second test for about a week.

In December 2005, Hakkarainen received a conditional sentence of one year and nine months for a similar offence. He raised no objections to the publication of his picture by police, stating that he wished to assist in making sure that all those partners who might have been infected could be reached.

The police justified the action of publishing personal information in this way on grounds of safeguarding health, and for investigative reasons.

Tennessee: Memphis pool worker charged with rape, HIV exposure; media furore

A media furore has exploded in Memphis, Tennessee, after a city swimming pool employee was charged with raping a 17-year-old girl and exposing her to HIV.

The media reports were based on a Memphis Police Department press release (below).

The case is particularly problematic because of the confusion in the police press release over:

• his job (they said he was a lifeguard, when in fact he was a pool worker, and – even more problematically - was fired by the City of Memphis when they learned of his arrest);

• whether "consensual sex with underage females" is a crime;

• and whether his HIV status is an aggravating factor, or whether the police are now looking for further complainants to make HIV exposure charges stick.

In fact, the press release is also a fishing expedition for further HIV exposure complaints.



Helping the police is the Memphis media, which has published the man's name and photo. One news story, on the Memphis news website, commercialappeal.com, has so far received over 160 comments, some of which threaten the man's life. Is publishing the man's name and photo really in the public interest?

Reading through some of the comments, it seems to many that the man's HIV status is more worrying than his alleged rape, with some having extremely unrealistic ideas over how HIV is transmitted. This isn't made any better by the media report itself, which suggests, subtly, that his HIV status puts others, including fellow prisoners, in some kind of danger.

However, at least one media outlet, Mediaverse, a Memphis-based blog that critiques local media coverage, has asked some extremely pertinent questions over how the police and the media have handled the case.

Story from Memphis news website, commercialappeal.com below.

City swimming pool worker faces rape, HIV charges
by Hank Dudding
Tuesday, August 19, 2008

An employee at a Memphis city swimming pool has been charged with raping a 17-year-old girl and exposing her to HIV last month.

Timothy Bernard Payne, 37, is being held in the Shelby County Jail on $250,000 bond.

The teen told investigators she accepted a man's offer of a ride home from the Westwood Community Center on July 31. Instead, he took her into a wooded area and sexually assaulted her.

The investigation led police to Payne, who was charged Monday with aggravated rape and criminal exposure to HIV.

An offender must know he carries the virus that causes AIDS to be charged with exposing others to it, said Maj. Joe Scott of the Memphis Police Department.

A police news release originally said Payne worked as a lifeguard at the community center, but the department later corrected the release to state that he was a pool attendant.

Pool attendants don't perform any lifesaving practices, said City of Memphis spokeswoman Toni Holmon-Turner.

The city fired Payne on Aug. 1 when it learned of the investigation, Holmon-Turner wrote in an e-mail. He was hired in 2006, a year before the city began doing background checks on temporary employees.

The pools are now closed for the summer, she said.

Police believe Payne has had sex with several underage females in the Westwood and South Memphis area and asked victims to call the sex crimes bureau at 545-5330.

Payne has a history of arrests dating to 1992. He was indicted on a rape charge in 1993, but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault.

Records indicate he served five months in the Shelby County Correction Center in 2003 for vandalism. He's not listed on the state's sex-offender registry list.

The Shelby County Jail doesn't keep inmates with HIV separate from other prisoners, said sheriff's office spokesman Steve Shular.

"There's no immediate danger," he said. "We just do our best to know where all the inmates are."

The arrest was the latest troubling incident involving Memphis city pools this summer.

Two teens drowned May31 on the first day pools were open for the season, one of them at the Westwood pool.

The pools were then closed for a month. When they reopened, the city required pool users to carry ID cards and anyone who wanted to go into deep water had to pass a swimming test.