A MAN who prosecutors accused of
“recklessly infecting” two male sex partners with HIV in Missouri has
been sentenced to 60 years in prison, in a judgment that has outraged
AIDS activists.
Twenty-three-year-old Michael L Johnson faced felony HIV exposure
charges and was also accused of knowingly exposing four others to the
virus that causes AIDS over nearly 10 months after being diagnosed as
HIV positive in January 2013.
He pleaded not guilty, although two
of his sexual partners testified in court that Johnson told them he did
not have any sexually transmitted diseases at the time of the
encounters.
Fusion
reported that a judge will determine whether some of Johnson’s
sentences can be served cumulatively, potentially cutting his total
prison term down to 30 years.
HIV activists reacted with anger and dismay to the sentencing,
saying the laws in Missouri and more than 30 other states criminalise a
medical condition, and that they will not kerb the spread of the virus.
The encounters occurred in Johnson’s dorm room and other campus
housing at Lindenwood University, a private school in the St Louis
suburb of St Charles.
The New York Daily News
reported that Johnson, who was a champion wrestler on the college team,
used the name ‘Tiger Mandingo’ in his online dating profile and had
filmed himself having unsafe sex with his partners. Missouri police
found 32 video clips on his laptop showing him having unprotected sex
with his partners, the site reported.
“He didn’t just fail to
disclose. When he was specifically asked if he was clean ... he lied,”
prosecutor Philip Groenweghe told jurors during the trial.
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