Czech Republic: 18 year-old pregnant woman gets 2 1/2 years for HIV non-disclosure

An 18 year-old pregnant woman from Eastern Bohemia in the Czech Republic, coinfected with both HIV and Hepatitis C, was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison last week for not disclosing that she was HIV-positive before having unprotected sex with her 19 year-old boyfriend. The judge, Miroslav Veselský, classified the 'crime' of HIV non-disclosure as 'attempted grievous bodily harm'.

This is only the fourth-ever prosecution for HIV non-disclosure prior to unprotected sex in the Czech Republic of which we are aware - and the first-ever prosecution of a woman. A young pregnant woman at that.  A young pregnant woman who spent her entire life in foster homes and juvenile institutions according to the two news reports of the case here (English translation here) and here (English translation here).

She was diagnosed with HIV and hepatitis C at the age of 15 and a year later was treated for dependence on methamphetamine and heroin. After turning 18 she was moved to a social care home  (where, according to Czech law, people with HIV must disclose their status), and the social care staff monitored her private life.

When staff learned that she was going out with a person named in the news reports as John N., they told her to disclose her health status to him or face the consequences.

"She told me that she has hepatitis C. The HIV - she said nothing, probably wanted to be with me and she was afraid of losing me."

It transpires that John was not a complainant in the case, but simply a witness. It was the care home staff who notified the police. In fact, John stated that although almost all of their sexual encounters were unprotected, he acquired neither HIV nor hepatitis C. Another partner, who went out with the young woman after her relationship with John ended also testified that he knew that the the young woman was HIV-positive and wore a condom.

The young woman was actually tried in absentia, at her own request, because she is eight months pregnant. Justice Veselský told the court he had never come across a case like this in 30 years on the bench and although the usual sentence for attempted grievous bodily harm is five to twelve years, he listened to appeals from both the defending and prosecuting counsel and decided to be "pragmatic" and "lenient" with the 2 1/2 year sentence.

The young woman has already served four months in custody, and can apply for parole in 15 months. This means, of course, that she will give birth in prison. In early February she will be taken to a detention hospital in Prague to prepare for childbirth.

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.

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.

US: Arkansas high school student arrested for HIV exposure

A 17 year-old high school student has been arrested under Arkansas's HIV disclosure law for having unprotected sex with a fellow student and not disclosing to her that he was HIV-positive.

According to the Benton County Daily Record, the teenager, who was arrested on April 6th, admitted to the arresting officer that he was HIV-positive, did not disclose this to the girl, and did not wear a condom while having sex with her.

However, he pleaded not guilty during his May 19th arraignment, during which he was charged as an adult, and faces up to 30 years in prison if he is found guilty. His next hearing is on July 6th. It is not clear whether or not he remains in custody.

According to another report, on 4020tv.com (a local TV station's website), the two allegedly had sex in the school toilets.

Police Chief James Allen told us the sexual contact occurred while the two were attending Bentonville High School. Principal Kim Garrett said school employees routinely patrol the halls and bathrooms to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen. Garrett said, “We have cameras on the outside of restrooms so that we can see who is going in and we can track how long a person would be in case we were concerned about a student at that point.”

I have grave concerns about this case. Why is he being tried as an adult, when in Arkansas you are not considered to be adult until 18? How long had the boy known his HIV status and had he been told about the legal issues? Does the school have a duty of care to both of the parties?

In the UK, the Terrence Higgins Trust and the National Children's Bureau is lobbying the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to clarify guidelines for charging young people under criminal HIV transmission laws.

"We feel it is inappropriate to consider criminal law as the first port of call for young people in this situation, certainly for a teenager coming to terms with both their sexuality and their virus," says THT's Lisa Power. "Growing up with HIV is terrifying enough for a young person but to be told you could be jailed if you get something wrong makes it even worse. A lot of young people with HIV have quite a problematic relationship with the virus. There are some parents who don't tell their children what they have got - they may simply say they have a blood disorder."

Update: Sept 22

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green has reduced the boy's bail from $50,000 to $10,000, according to a report on nwaonline.com. He is charged with four counts of felony exposing another person to HIV. If he makes bail, he must be given a home-monitoring device and report regularly to a probation officer. He returns to court on November 9th for a mental status hearing.

Update: Dec 5

The boy has been "arrested again, after police say he knowingly exposed a fifth girl to HIV through sexual contact," according to local TV news station, KSFM. A hearing will be held on December 21 to determine whether the boy, now 18, should be tried as a juvenile or an adult.