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”.]