US: South Carolina man gets six years for HIV exposure; status revealed during investigation for sex with a minor (updated)

Update: November 13th
The Aiken Standard reports that Joel Lynn Bedenbaugh was found guilty by a jury of exposing his ex-wife to HIV (although she did not become infected). The ex-teacher was sentenced by Circuit Court Judge Paul Burch, to "10 years, suspended on six years in prison and four years probation. Burch also sentenced Bedenbaugh to register as a sex offender, saying that he had to put safeguards in place because of the risk."

He remains under investigation for the separate "alleged sexual assault in 2008 in which he is accused of sexually abusing a girl, who at the time was younger than 11 years old."

Original post: June 6th
A South Carolina man being investigated for sexually assaulting an underage girl has now been charged with HIV exposure following the release of his medical records. The charges relate to both the girl and the man's ex wife.

The Augusta Chronicle reports that the 47 year-old man was charged last year with "criminal sexual conduct involving an 11-year-old girl, allegations that spanned from 2003 to 2005" and that the man's HIV status "came to light during the investigation."

Officers contacted the girl and an ex-wife of [the accused] to see whether they were aware he was infected. Lt. Turno said that when officers learned the two had not been informed, the new charge was pursued. [The man] turned himself in to the Aiken County Detention Center on Thursday and was bailed out the same day.

[...]

According to state law, anyone who knowingly exposes someone to HIV without first notifying the person of their condition can be charged with a felony punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or a maximum 10 years in prison.

Sweden: 20 year-old man previously convicted of HIV exposure arrested again

A 20 year-old Swedish man who was released from prison in January 2009 after serving 16 months of a two-year sentence for HIV exposure has been arrested again following allegations that he had unprotected sex without disclosure with a 15 year-old girl.

Although the case is briefly summarised in English in a report in The Local, much more detail is provided in the Swedish tabloid, Aftonbladet.

According to this report, the young man from Linköping was originally diagnosed in April 2007, at the age of 17, after having had unprotected sex with his HIV-positive girlfriend at the time, despite knowing her HIV status.

Following his diagnosis, he appeared to go on something of a bender, sleeping with seven young women without disclosing his status or wearing a condom. None became HIV-positive. He was arrested in September 2007 (previously reported on my blog here) and the case went to court in January 2008.

His defence was that he was in denial.

I rätten försvarade han sig med att han var chockad och inte kunde ta till sig informationen. (In court he defended himself that he was shocked and could not absorb the information.)

He was found guilty of attempted aggravated assault and sentenced to two years in prison. He was also ordered to pay 40,000 Swedish Krona (around €4000) in damages to each of the seven young women.

Released after 16 months' prison, in January 2009 he moved back to Linköping.

Last Friday, he was picked up for questioning by police following a complaint from a 15 year-old girl that he had had unprotected sex without disclosing his HIV status.

Prosecutor, Britt-Louise Viklund told Linköping District Court:

Han erkänner och skyller på att han var alkoholpåverkad. Han hade tillgång till kondom men använde den inte, säger Britt-Louise Viklund. ("He recognises and blames it on the fact that he was under the influence of alcohol. He had access to condoms but did not use them.")

His defence lawyer argued, unsuccessfully, that her client had changed.

Han är djupt ångerfull över det här, han har förändrat sitt beteende mycket den senaste tiden och han menade att det inte finns någon risk för fortsatt brottslighet, säger hans advokat Morgan Gerdin. (He is deeply remorseful over this: he has recently changed his behaviour and says that there is no risk of further crime," said his lawyer, Morgan Gerdin.)

However, the court decided that the risk was so great that he would expose more women to the risk of infection that he has been remanded in custody until his trial.

The case reveals much about the difficulties of a punitive approach to HIV non-disclosure and the Swedish system's inability to deal with a young man unable to come to terms with his diagnosis.

Surely prison is not working as a deterrent, nor has it rehabilitated him. Some of the comments from readers of The Local suggest far more draconian measures, including a tattoo on his forehead, castration and a slow a painful death. I have reported the latter suggestions (such as "Cover him in gasoline and BURN him!") as hate speech under The Local's 'report abuse' policy. Let's see if they remove such comments.

Issues such as inflammatory media coverage of HIV exposure/transmission cases, and how public health laws are also being used (and abused) in such cases were discussed in Stockholm in June 2009 at an excellent one-day symposium, HIV and Criminal Law, organised by HIV-Sweden.

You can download a pdf report of the meeting here or email HIV-Sweden to request a hard copy.

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.

Germany: African migrant gets further eight years in prison for HIV exposure

A court in Würzburg, Bavaria has found a 41 year-old man originally from Kenya guilty of HIV exposure for a second time. Already serving a five-and-half-year sentence imposed in 2007 for having unprotected sex without disclosure with seven women, of whom two are now HIV-positive, the man – identified only as Kennedy O. – was sentenced late last month to a further eight years in prison after pleading guilty to having unprotected sex with three women, including a 13-year-old girl.

According to a report in The Local, he was

found guilty of eight counts of attempted assault and the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old-girl after he slept with her and two girlfriends – a housewife and a hairdresser – without disclosing he had the virus that can cause AIDS. None are known to be infected. [...] “He knew of his illness but did not acknowledge it,” said the main judge presiding over the trial in a Würzburg, Bavaria, district court. “The accused made victims of his intimate partners without scruples.” Prosecutors requested the man be imprisoned for a further 10 years, while the defense asked for six-and-a-half years. Court reports said Kennedy O. showed regret during the sentencing hearing, at which he said he never meant to harm anyone through his actions. He has vowed to never have sex without a condom again.

The case was widely reported in the German press. Of note, an article in Bild highlights that he had testified that a doctor told him there was only a 1-in-a-100 chance of transmission because he was on treatment and had an undetectable viral load:

Weil Ärzte ihm erzählten, die Ansteckungsgefahr liege nur bei einem Prozent, habe er darauf vertraut, dass „nichts passiert“. [Because doctors told him the risk of infection is only one percent, he trusts that "nothing happens".]

US: Arkansas man accused of HIV exposure, under-age rape

A 29 year-old HIV-positive man from Little Rock, Arkansas has been arrested for allegedly raping a boy (age unknown) and exposing him to HIV.

According to a short report on local TV station website, Fox16.com, the man is alleged to have "touched him inappropriately...[knowing] he was HIV positive and still exposed the boy to his disease."

There is, of course, no defence to sexual child abuse. However, one wonders if there was any risk of HIV exposure from touching "inappropriately"?

Anyway, I'm reporting this mainly because of what prosecuting attorney Larry Jegley is quoted as saying.

"When they come along particularly in context of a child, it's extremely disturbing and gets the anger factor working quite frankly among my people here when we get those cases."

By "they" is he referring to rape, HIV exposure, rape and HIV exposure, or simply people living with HIV? Perhaps when it comes to his court date we'll actually know whether the man's HIV status truly is relevent here.

Australia: Adeleide man charged with underage sex, HIV exposure

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

US: New Jersey man arrested for underage rape, HIV transmission

A 34 year-old man has been charged with "multiple counts of aggravated sexual assault, sexual assault, endangering the welfare of a child and other offenses" following allegations from the 16 year-old son of the man's girlfriend that the man had raped him several times resulting in him becoming HIV-positive.

According to a news report in The Trentonian, which made the front page, the man (who was not named, but his ethnicity revealed - resulting in several extremely racist comments by readers) was arrested on Sunday.

Further details of this tragic case are below:

Police learned of the alleged abuse after the 16-year-old victim discovered he had contracted HIV. A police source said a friend of the boy was going to a free clinic to be tested for the disease, and asked if the boy would like to join him. The victim, the source said, agreed to go but assumed he had nothing to worry about because he was not sexually active. The friend’s test quickly came back negative, the source said, but there was a delay with the victim’s results.

The boy was shocked to learn his test came back positive, and the revelation prompted the disclosure of a secret he held for more than three years. The boy told police his mother’s longtime boyfriend had anally raped him on three separate occasions at two different Trenton homes in 2005 and 2006. The victim said he was only 12 years old the first time it happened [...] He reported that two similar encounters followed over the course of the next year. Investigators do not believe the mother was aware of the alleged behavior, and she has not been charged in any way.

Nigeria: Two year sentence for raping and infecting girl with HIV

A 29 year-old man from Umuahia, Nigeria, has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to rape and indecent assault after raping an eight year-old girl who subsequently tested HIV-positive.

According to the story from the Daily Independent (Lagos), reproduced on allafrica.com:

The magistrate, Kanu Onuma, in his judgement, observed that the offence was committed last year, adding that the charge was brought to the court in April 2009, while the law says that rape charges be brought to court two months after the offence was committed.

He said he could not convict the accused for rape but for indecent assault and described his action as satanic not only for raping an innocent girl but also for further transmitting HIV to her.

Onuma urged the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) that arrested the man to ensure that the girl was placed on anti-retroviral drug and make the proceedings known to the Child and Human Rights group so they can help her further.

Canada: Quebec man gets nine years for sexually assaulting girl

An HIV-positive Quebec man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a girl over a period of two years, starting when she was just 12.

According to the report in the Winnipeg Free Press:

The girl's first HIV test was negative, but the 15-year-old girl is still terrorized and refuses to get tested again or get therapy.

It seems that he was charged with aggravated sexual assault, which carries longer minimum and maximum sentences than sexual assault. The difference is his HIV status, which Canadian law sees as an aggravating factor because, according to Section 273 of Criminal Code, he has "endanger[ed] the life of the complainant." Has he endangered her life if she turns out to be HIV-negative?

I think in this case, it doesn't matter. Since it appears, at least from the brief report, that the man's HIV status was an aggravating factor, in that she has been so traumatised that she refuses to be re-tested which could harm her future health, I fully support the man's prosecution for aggravated sexual assault.

US: New York DA calls for HIV-specific laws following new 'reckless endangerment' case

A New York State man charged with nine counts of reckless endangerment for having sex with nine males aged between 16 and 20 (the age of consent in NY is 17) without disclosing his HIV status has unleashed a political maelstrom reminiscent of the Nushawn Williams case in the late 1990s.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota is teaming up with Parents for Megan's Law – a group that advocates cracking down on sex offenders – and calling for HIV-specific laws in New York State because, according to an article in today's Newsday, the man is "a walking public health menace."

"Often, it is not until confronted with a case such as this that inadequacies in the law are revealed to prosecutors and the public," Spota said. "The penal law needs to be reviewed and revised to enhance the penalty and the ability to prosecute an individual who knowingly exposes individuals to HIV," the virus that causes AIDS.

The current case involves a 36-year-old newspaper deliveryman from Oceanside, who was arrested in December for having sex with a 16 year-old male in his car. When officers found HIV medications in the car, he was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, criminal sex acts and endangering the welfare of a child.

Yesterday, he was charged on another eight counts of reckless endangerment after investigations uncovered a further eight males, aged 16 to 20, with whom he allegedly had sex without disclosing his HIV status. Unlike Williams, who pleaded guilty and was tried in the media, the man has pleaded not guilty on all nine counts of first-degree reckless endangerment.

A second news story from Newsday does not clarify whether any of the males have tested HIV-positive, and also shows a certain amount of ignorance regarding HIV transmission from Spota.

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said medical privacy laws prevent him from revealing whether any of the alleged victims had contracted HIV or AIDS. He also noted New York law does not allow him to prosecute the suspect on charges of intentionally spreading the disease, adding he intends to ask state lawmakers to consider a change in the law.

Spota said [the man] faces a maximum of seven years if convicted of the most serious charge.

"On the other hand, each of the victims of this crime have been sentenced in our view to a lifetime of worry and testing," he said.

Today's sensitive HIV antibody tests have reduced the 'window period' between infection and diagnosis to a few weeks. A few people may produce antibodies outside this period, but all tests are now accurate by 3 months. Therefore, this will not result in a "lifetime of worrying and testing," as long as the young men are advised of the medical facts.

Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that the man is a registered sex offender due to "a 1992 sodomy conviction involving a 6-year-old relative. He was released from prison in 2001."

US: Michigan man pleads 'no contest' to HIV exposure charges; faces life in prison

Update: February 1st 2009. Gerald Campbell Jr. has been sentenced t0 between 10 and 15 years in prison, according to a report in Montcalm County's Daily News.

A quote from the Montcalm County Assistant Prosecutor, Christopher Hekman, sums up how much ignorance there is amongst those working in the criminal justice system about HIV. None of his four 'victims' were infected with HIV, and yet following a comment by Campbell's attorney, Dennis Moore, that this may well be a life sentence for his client, Hekman tells the paper:

"We're talking about four women who are not out of the woods yet," Montcalm County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Hekman responded. "They may still come down with this fatal disease (AIDS). Mr. Moore talks about a life sentence for his client, but he (Campbell) may have handed down four life sentences to these women, two of whom are not even adults yet."

Today's sensitive HIV antibody tests have reduced the 'window period' between infection and diagnosis to a few weeks. A few people may produce antibodies outside this period, but all tests are now accurate by 3 months. Mr Campbell had unprotected sex with four women (two of whom were under 16) at least six months ago, and probably closer to a year. There is no way that they could now possibly test HIV-positive as a result of those sexual encounters.

Original post: A 32 year-old Michigan man has pleaded 'no contest' to two counts of HIV exposure and two counts of underage sex, after complaints from two women led to widespread publicity and a police 'fishing expedition', which resulted in two further complainants, both of whom were under 16.

He faces a life sentence.

The brief AP story, published in the Detroit Free Press, is below.

HIV-positive man pleads no contest to 4 sex charges

ASSOCIATED PRESS
December 5, 2008

STANTON, Mich.— A man accused of molesting two underaged girls and having unprotected sex with two women who did not know he carries the AIDS virus has pleaded no contest to four felony sex charges.

Thirty-two-year-old Gerald Campbell Jr. of Crystal entered the pleas Thursday in a Stanton courtroom. Crystal is about 45 miles northeast of Grand Rapids.

A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated by the court as such at sentencing.

Campbell pleaded no contest to two counts of AIDS sexual penetration with an uninformed partner and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

He faces up to life in prison when sentenced.

Defense lawyer Dennis Moore declined to comment when contacted at his Edmore office.

HIV-positive Crystal man is sent to prison
Elisabeth Waldon, The Daily News
30 Jan 2009

STANTON - An HIV-positive Crystal resident was sent back to prison for up to 15 years Thursday after pleading no contest to four sex charges.

Gerald Campbell Jr., 32, appeared handcuffed and wearing jail clothes alongside his attorney, Dennis Moore of Edmore, for sentencing before Judge Suzanne Hoseth Kreeger in 8th Judicial Circuit Court.

Campbell pleaded no contest last year to two counts of AIDS sexual penetration with an uninformed partner and two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

A no contest plea does not admit guilt but is treated as a guilty plea by the court.

The crimes involved two women from Carson City and Hubbardston plus two underage girls from Belding and Crystal. Carson City Police Chief Jeff Hilliker investigated the case. He said the two underage girls came forward after The Daily News published a Sept. 3, 2008, story about the two women victims.

"This sentence that is to be imposed may very well be a life sentence for this young man," Moore said.

"We're talking about four women who are not out of the woods yet," Montcalm County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Hekman responded. "They may still come down with this fatal disease (AIDS). Mr. Moore talks about a life sentence for his client, but he (Campbell) may have handed down four life sentences to these women, two of whom are not even adults yet."

Before sentencing, Kreeger told Campbell he had "a reckless disregard for the welfare of others."

Campbell testified in this week's arson trial against Jim Westra, owner of the former Haunted Mill in Greenville. During that trial Campbell said he was testifying because his conscience was bothering him. Despite his testimony, he did not receive a deal from the prosecutor's office.

"I hope that you do have a conscience and that it does eat at you because this type of behavior is criminal," Hoseth Kreeger said Thursday.

She then sentenced Campbell to from 10 to 15 years in prison with no credit for time already served, since he was on probation at the time of his offenses. He also must register as a sex offender.

"I just hope the best for the victims," said Hilliker, who was present during Thursday's sentencing. "I hope they come out OK."

Campbell previously served prison time from the ages of 17 to 31. He was sentenced to from 12 to 25 years in prison on Dec. 3, 1993, for assault with intent to commit murder. Campbell was paroled from prison on Sept. 25, 2007.

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.

India: Tamil Nadu man charged with rape for criminal HIV transmission to minors

A 48 year-old HIV-positive man in India's Tamil Nadu state has been charged with rape and intimidation after he allegedly had sex with two sisters, aged 12 and 15, who are also now HIV-positive.

The man is claiming he was unaware of his HIV status until very recently, but it is being reported that his wife committed suicide a year ago by setting herself on fire after finding out her husband's HIV status.

The parents of the girls were extremely reluctant to press charges, apparently, but were persuaded by an official from the Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society.

The tragic story is reported in several Indian newspapers and websites, but the Daijiworld story, below, has details of the actual charges. Notably, there are no criminal HIV transmission laws in India.

Chennai: Two Minor Girls Fall Prey to HIV+ Rapist

Chennai, Apr 20: Parents of two minor girls from Kottangulam village near Srivilliputhur in Virudhunagar district are in shock. The district police on Saturday arrested a 38-year-old HIV positive man, a relative of one of the girls, based on a complaint that he had raped the two girls and passed on the deadly virus to them.

Police arrested Ayyappan, a mason, a day after the parents of the girls filed a complaint, and booked him under IPC 376 (rape) and 506 (1) (intimidation), district superintendent of police T Senthil Kumar told The Times of India over phone from Virudhunagar.

Even two months ago, the district staff of the Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) came to know that the two girls had been infected with HIV and suspected that Ayyappan could be the culprit. "But we could not do anything without the parents cooperating with us," said a TANSACS staff, who did not want to be named.

Police said that Ayyappan, whose wife died a year ago after setting herself on fire, was a neighbor and relative of the unsuspecting girls, aged 12 and 15. Villagers say that the woman had killed herself after she came to know that her husband was HIV positive.

The victims, both school dropouts, were friends of Ayyappan’s daughter and they used to frequent one another’s house. The accused must have raped the girls over a period of time until a year ago, police said. When the girls began to fall sick frequently, doctors at the government hospital took tests for HIV and both confirmed positive for HIV. Though the test was taken six months ago, the shattered parents kept it under wraps fearing social stigma and also harassment from Ayyappan, who was one of the girls’ uncle.

They chose to lodge a complaint only on Friday night after much persuasion from a TANSACS official who was sent from Chennai to make enquiries about the allegation.

Ayyappan had apparently claimed that the girls were willing partners in the sexual act. "We have to verify this with the girls. Anyway it still amounts to rape as the victims are minors," said Senthil Kumar.

Ayyappan also claimed to have known about his HIV status only two days ago when he took a test in the hospital.

Taking a serious note of the incident, Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TANSACS) project director Supriya Sahu sent a team of officials to Srivilliputur for investigation and asked the district collector and the SP to take action.

US: New York State man sentenced to four years for rape, passing on HIV.

A 40 year-old HIV-positive man from Syracuse, New York, pleaded guilty to the second-degree rape of a 15 year-old mentally disabled girl, and on Tuesday was sentenced to four years.

...the prosecution looked into whether there was any more serious charge McGloun could face. But even if authorities could prove McGloun knew he was HIV-positive when he had sex with the victim, the only crime that might include would be reckless endangerment. That is the same level felony as the second-degree rape charge and would carry no additional jail time, the prosecutor said.

The story, from the Syracuse Post-Standard, is below.

Victim's HIV blamed on rapist

Willie McGloun, 40, is sentenced for raping teen who tested positive.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

By Jim O'Hara

A local man was sentenced Monday to four years in state prison for having a sexual encounter with a mentally disabled teenager who has now tested positive for HIV.

Willie McGloun, 40, had nothing to say before being sentenced by state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti to the penalty agreed upon when he pleaded guilty to second-degree rape. Assistant District Attorney Andrew Tarkowski said the charge was based on the fact the 15-year-old victim was unable to consent because of her mental disability.

Tarkowski said McGloun was a friend of the victim's aunt and had been staying with the family at the time of the incident Sept. 23 in DeWitt.

In court, the prosecutor read letters from the victim and her mother in which they both talked of how the girl spent her 16th birthday crying as she awaited the outcome of her HIV test. Both the girl and her mother wrote of the trauma of testing positive for HIV, something they blamed on McGloun.

The mother said McGloun may be going to prison but he had sentenced her and her daughter to "life in hell."

Tarkowski said the prosecution looked into whether there was any more serious charge McGloun could face. But even if authorities could prove McGloun knew he was HIV-positive when he had sex with the victim, the only crime that might include would be reckless endangerment. That is the same level felony as the second-degree rape charge and would carry no additional jail time, the prosecutor said.

"It is rare," Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey said of having a defendant pass on HIV to the victim of a sexual assault in this community.

"I've never had a case where that happened," said Garvey, who heads the prosecution's Special Victims Unit.

South Africa: HIV-positive father accused of attempted murder for raping son

An HIV-positive father is on trial in the South African capital, Pretoria, for the rape and attempted murder of his ten year-old son, according to a report from the South African Press Agency.

The charge sheet alleges the father had not only sodomised the boy but also attempted to murder him because he knew he was HIV-positive at the time.

The full story, from iol.co.za, is below.

Father accused of raping his own son

Judgement will be delivered on Thursday in the Pretoria High Court trial of a 29-year-old Mamelodi father, who is accused of attempting to murder and rape his own son, the court heard on Wednesday.

The father pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming he was innocent and had been "framed", but did not testify in his own defence.

His frail-looking son, who is now ten years old, earlier this week testified through an intermediary about his alleged ordeal at his father's hands.

The charge sheet alleges the father had not only sodomised the boy but also attempted to murder him because he knew he was HIV-positive at the time.

He allegedly went to fetch his son after not seeing him for a long time, but then went drinking, taking the child along. He allegedly made several attempts to have intercourse with the boy, but was reprimanded and prevented from doing so by friends.

He however allegedly succeeded in sodomising the little boy later on in the evening.

The child's mother testified that she had taken him to the clinic after realising that he could not sit when she tried to bathe him.

The boy's uncle said he had been woken that night by the sound of someone screaming.

He found the accused being assaulted by his friends and was told that the accused's son alleged he had been raped.

The uncle said he knew that the accused was HIV positive before the incident and had seen the medicine he used.

A childhood friend of the accused on Wednesday testified that the accused had been drinking that night and at one stage said he had an erection and wanted to have sex with his son, which was why he had followed them home later that night.

The friend had intervened when he saw the accused slapping his son, but said he had not seen the accused choking his son as well, as the boy had alleged.

Later that evening, he violently pulled the accused off his son after finding him on top of the boy with his pants down behind an outside toilet.

The child's pants had also been pulled down and he had difficulty walking.

The boy was later taken to the police station.

US: HIV-positive California man accepts plea bargain to drop 'special AIDS enhancement'

An HIV-positive Northern Californian man has accepted a plea bargain 'deal' where he pleas no contest to a succession of serious charges, which could lead to 42 years in jail. In return, prosecutors have dropped the 'special AIDS enhancement' to the charges which would have added another three years to the sentence.

Edward Hosmun could receive up to 42 years in prison when he is sentenced in March.

Hosmun pleaded no contest to engaging in sex with an "incompetent" minor, two counts of committing a lewd act with a child and a separate felony charge of inducing a child to engage in a lewd act.

He also admitted to a "multiple victim" enhancement that makes a prison sentence in the case mandatory, and a second special allegation of providing a controlled substance to both victims.

In return for his pleas, prosecutors dropped an enhancement alleging Hosmun was aware he carried the AIDS virus when he committed the molestations.

Deputy district attorney Kelly Maloy said surprisingly, the special AIDS enhancement would only have increased the man's sentence by three years.

Full story in the Chico Enterprise Record.