US: 'It's Criminal', says POZ magazine; my HIV exposure round-up proves it is!

The October issue of POZ magazine is just out, and their cover story is about the criminalisation of HIV non-disclosure.

It's a timely reminder that the US prosecutes more HIV-positive individuals than any other country in the world. They go after us not only for allegedly not disclosing our HIV status before sex but also for just being HIV-positive and having sex or doing other things that are so low on the scale of HIV transmission risks that criminal law involvement becomes a stigmatising over-reaction.

In fact, over the summer months I've been so overwhelmed with news reports of prosecutions from the States, that I've had something of a backlog. So, here's a summary of what's been happening in August and September.

• August 14th: In Ocala, Florida, a 39 year-old woman was arrested for not disclosing her HIV status. The complainant was a 58 year-old man who had sex with her once, according to Ocala.com.
• August 21st: In Palm Beach, Florida a 32 year-old woman was arrested for "committing prostitution while HIV-positive, a third-degree felony which can result in up to five years in prison", according to The Palm Beach Post.
• August 27th: In Oklahoma City, a 40 year-old man was arrested following a complaint from another man for not disclosing his HIV status before oral sex. He was charged with "knowingly engaging in conduct reasonably likely to transfer HIV", according to newsOK.com.
• September 3rd: In Memphis, Tennessee, a burglary suspect was charged with criminal HIV exposure after he "he spit blood in the officer’s face and said that he was HIV-positive" during his arrest, according to myeyewitnessnews.com.
• September 11th: In Florence, South Carolina, a 35 year-old was arrested for HIV exposure after a complainant went to police (sex of both individuals unknown). "A person who violates this law is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction, can be fined up to $5,000 or serve up to 10 years in jail," according to WMBFnews.com.
• September 11th: In Dayton, Ohio a 25 year-old "male prostitute is facing felony soliciting and prostitution charges after he was picked up by an undercover cop working as part of a prostitution sting," reports the Dayton Daily News. His name, face and HIV status was also published.
  
• September 17th: In Fort Smith, Arkansas, a 33 year-old man "charged with knowingly exposing a person to HIV is also the lone suspect in a 2002 homicide in North Carolina", reports the Times Record. The 2002 murder allegedly took place after the female victim discovered the man's HIV status and threatened charges.
• September 21st: In Mattoon, Illinois a 42 year-old man faces HIV exposure charges after a 19 year-old woman complained to police that "he engaged in sex with her, knowing he was HIV positive", reports the Journal-Gazette Times-Courier.
  

Admittedly, the Arkansas case does warrant some criminal justice system investigation (if only to finally prove or disprove these 2002 allegations). It is also the only one where the complainant is acually HIV-positive. I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about this case if and when it goes to trial!

Back to the POZ piece. Page 1 features an overview of US laws; why POZ believes they are wrong and out-of-date; and what HIV-positive individuals can do to protect themselves from prosecution.

If you can get a person to indicate that you have made it perfectly clear that you have HIV, and do so in front of a witness, such proof of disclosure may hold up in court. But unfortunately, many states do not define what constitutes “informed consent.”

[...]

Of course, it is also a good idea to use a condom. While not a legal defense in some states, condoms reduce the risk of spreading HIV. Historically, fewer people have been prosecuted for nondisclosure prior to sex when a condom was used.

Most important, the HIV community must lobby local, state and federal government officials and lawmakers to rewrite (or better yet, abolish) the laws that criminalize HIV transmission. Contact your mayor, your congress people, your state senators and their staff. Educate them about HIV risks and transmission, and hold their feet to the fire to ensure that all people living with HIV are not unfairly punished.

Page 2 features "comments posted on POZ.com by readers in response to various news stories and opinion pieces on the subject of criminalizing people living with HIV."

Page 3 has an excellent interview by Regan Hoffman with Catherine Hanssens, executive director of The Center for HIV Law and Policy. Highlights include:

"It’s hard to think of any disease or context in which someone would be put away for 20 years for what is basically an act of consensual sex where no one has been harmed. But the reporting in the mainstream press [about these cases] is informed by huge misunderstandings about how HIV is transmitted and a lot of ignorance about whom HIV affects and what drives the epidemic."

"The things that you would want to do to protect yourself and your partner are not necessarily the things that are going to be rewarded in the courtroom. There is a disincentive to disclose because proof is a difficult thing."

"Disclosure is not the equivalent of latex... The thing that stops transmission is latex, not words."

"The notion that we need a whole other set of standards and separate laws [to prosecute the nondisclosure of HIV] reveals that it’s not the intent to harm that results in a lot of prosecutions, but rather the ignorance about how transmissible HIV is and a revulsion for people who are affected by HIV."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

US: Illinois man charged with HIV exposure, confused and irresponsible reporting

A 37 year-old man from Sterling, Illinois has been charged under the state's "criminal transmission of HIV" laws, even though "the actual transmission of HIV is not a required element of this crime." It is alleged he had sex thirteen times with his girlfriend without disclosing his HIV status.

The confused law partially explains why the reporting of this case, on WQAD.com is also so confused. But it doesn't excuse the amazingly irresponsible scaremongering quotes (if they are accurate) from the local police chief and a local infectious disease specialist, who should know better.

Taylor is pleading not guilty, but authorities suspect there will be more victims.

[...]

"This guy presumably has been spreading it," said Sterling Police Chief Ron Potthoff. "And if these women contract it, they will be spreading it."

It's news of a potentially deadly cycle at the Whiteside County Health Department. Plenty of calls are coming in on Thursday.

"It's scary," said Joan Saunders, infectious disease specialist.

It's a situation where one person could infect many others. HIV tests are available at the Whiteside County Health Department for $20.

"The sooner that we can get people that have concerns tested, we're either going to relieve their minds or refer them to the proper services," she said.

The accused man is now in custody, and has been charged with "13 felony counts with the same woman [which] carries three to seven years in prison."

He will next appear in court on April 15th.

Update May 1st: Seems the prosecution is having trouble proving that he knew he was HIV-positive because state privacy laws do not allow medical records to be used in criminal hearings. An Illinois State Senator is proposing to change the laws.

Two reports, on mystateline.com and mywebtimes.com

US: Illinois man imprisoned for ten years for HIV exposure (again)

A 24 year-old man who was charged with HIV exposure after serving four years for the same 'crime', has been sentenced to ten years in prison, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Man imprisoned again for not telling sex partners he has HIV
March 28, 2008
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.

A paroled sex offender with a history of having sex with women who don't know he is HIV positive is off to prison again for the same offense.

Twenty-four-year-old Casey Yonts was sentenced to a decade behind bars after he pleaded guilty to two felony Madison County counts of criminal transmission of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

The charges stem from incidents involving Yonts' girlfriend and her sister.

Authorities have said the sisters, ages 19 and 26, were unaware Yonts was infected, and they have tested negative for the virus.

Investigators say Yonts had been living with his girlfriend and her two children since December.

Yonts served prison time on charges that he had sex in 2004 with a 15-year-old girl when he was HIV infected. Yonts was 21 at the time of that offense. AP

US: Illinois man accused of HIV exposure after serving time for HIV transmission

A 24 year-old Illinois man, who previously served four years for criminal HIV transmission has now been accused by his former, pregnant, girlfriend – and her sister, with whom he also had sex – of criminal HIV exposure.

Bethalto is a suburb of St. Louis (which spans two states, Missouri and Illinois) but it appears he is being charged under Illinois state laws (Madison County jail is in Illinois), although both states have HIV exposure laws.

Story, from KSDK NewsChannel5's website, below.

After Prison Release, Man Accused Of Criminal Transmission of HIV, Again
updated: 2/25/2008 10:20:46 PM
By Ann Rubin

(KSDK) - He was convicted of exposing a teenager to HIV without her knowledge. Now, four months after being released from prison, a 24-year old Bethalto man is accused of doing the same thing again.

Right after he was released, police believe Casey Yonts found a new girlfriend. They say he had unprotected sex with her and then also had sex with her sister.

For awhile though, Yonts appeared to be the perfect boyfriend, according to this woman, we'll call "Susan".

She says, "he sent me text messages and told me he loved me 40 times a day."

But, it was what he wasn't saying that came as a shock. Court documents show Yonts had been previously sentenced to prison for sexual abuse of a minor, and criminal transmission of HIV.

After four years, he was released in November. His girlfriend had no idea about the crime, or the disease.

She says, "It had been about two months that we had been together and he still hadn't revealed any of that. I had to find out from the internet."

In fact, there was an entire MySpace page devoted to Yonts sexual past. Susan believes it was set up by a former girlfriend as a warning. Still, despite her own exposure to HIV, Susan didn't break up with him.

She says, "In my head I'm thinking oh my god if I get HIV, nobody's ever going to want to be with me. So I didn't break up with him right away because I figured if that were the case it would just be better to stay with him than be alone."

Then last week, everything changed, according to police. Detective Craig Welch says, "Mr. Yonts was caught having sexual relations with the sister of the 24 year old woman by another family member."

She says, "I figured if somebody who told me he loved me that much every day was willing to cheat on me with a family member, then what's going to stop him from doing it with somebody else three months from now."

Casey Yonts now faces new charges for failing to register as a sex offender and for exposing the sisters to HIV. So far both have tested negative.

But it's a different test Susan is worried about. She just found out she's pregnant.

She says, "I guess you really can't trust anybody. Because everything about our relationship was a lie."

Yonts is being held in the Madison County Jail. A preliminary hearing has been set for mid-March.

US: Illinois man charged with HIV exposure

A shoddily-written article from a local paper in Illinois reports that a 53 year-old HIV-positive man, Raymond Walker, is being charged under Illinois' draconian 'intentional HIV exposure' laws [see this link for a summary of US HIV exposure laws] after his girlfriend went to the police a few days after having unprotected sex with him (and alleging he had not informed her of his HIV status). The man will appear in court next month, and faces between three and seven years in jail.

The charge alleges that he had unprotected sex with his girlfriend in her Urbana home between Jan. 4 and 8 and had not informed her he carries the virus.

The woman came to the Urbana police station with the news on Tuesday, and Walker was charged with the Class 2 felony offense Wednesday.

Judge Richard Klaus set Walker's bond at $10,000 and assigned his case to Judge Heidi Ladd. Walker, who entered a plea of innocent, is due back in court Feb. 26.

Read the full report in the East Central Illinois News-Gazette.