HIV-positive man gets jail time for spitting in paramedic's eyes
Court also heard Alliston man, 27, taunted police and first-responders about his HIV status after rolling vehicle in Innisfil in July 2021
An HIV-positive Alliston man who spat on a paramedic, threatened and then assaulted police after driving drunk and flipping his vehicle in a mid-afternoon crash almost four years ago has been sentenced to nine months in jail.
X, 27, apologized and told court he “didn’t want this hanging over me anymore.”
X had been in custody for about three weeks after being picked up in another jurisdiction before being sentenced on Friday before Ontario Court Justice Jodie-Lynn Waddilove.
The judge expressed empathy for what the paramedic must have felt after being spit on by X, who had taunted the police and first-responders that he was HIV-positive.
The chances of virus transmission through saliva and spitting is remote, but Waddilove said that didn’t matter.
“In my view, (the remote possibility of transmission) doesn’t reduce the alarm suffered by the paramedic,” said Waddilove.
“They were attending the scene to help you,” the judge added.
X said he had no memory of the incident, because he hit his head while rolling his vehicle. It was found in the ditch on Sideroad 10 near Line 11 in Innisfil on July 21, 2021.
Court heard that X yelled at police that he was going to bite his own lip to draw blood. He then spit into the paramedic’s eyes, court heard, but it is not believed his saliva was mixed with any blood.
X pleaded guilty in November to assault, assaulting a peace officer and drunk-driving charges.
However, it was not made clear during Friday’s sentencing hearing why more than three years had passed since the incident and his finding of guilt.
The time since was due to the court ordering a Gladue report, which seeks to provide information about an offender’s Indigenous heritage and assess the systemic issues that may have contributed to their involvement in the criminal justice system.
X’s Indigenous heritage could not be confirmed and therefore no Gladue report was provided.
His lawyer attempted to provide details about his client’s background, but Waddilove, who is Indigenous, responded with probing questions seeking more information.
The judge’s queries put both X and his lawyer on the back foot.
In the end, Waddilove did not question his Indigenous self-identification, but did say it had no effect in her passing sentence.
In the end, she moved little off the Crown’s request for a 10-month jail term.
“In my view, a custodial sentence is justified,” she told X. “It is entirely appropriate in these circumstances.”
