California man gets jail time for failing to disclose HIV status
A California man has been sentenced to six months in jail for failing to inform a sex partner he was HIV positive.
Thomas Miguel Guerra, 30, of San Diego, pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor health code violation, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post and others report.
At his sentencing, Guerra disavowed his plea, saying he never lied to the man who reported him to San Diego Police after learning that Guerra was HIV positive.
“I would never, ever do something like I’m being accused of,” he said. “I did not rape this person.”
But Superior Court Judge Kathleen Lewis, who gave Guerra the maximum sentence, said she wished the penalties were tougher.
“I think that’s a tremendous oversight in the law if this is just a misdemeanor,” she said. She called the sentence a “travesty” and said the offense should be upgraded to a felony.
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, whose office prosecuted Guerra, said he hoped the case would help educate people that they have a legal obligation—as well as a moral and ethical one—to inform their sex partners of their HIV status.
The victim, who was infected with HIV by Guerra, said Guerra told him he was HIV negative when they began dating in August 2013. He said he later discovered messages on Guerra’s computer in which he admitted to being HIV positive and to lying to sex partners about his status.
Guerra faces a hearing next month on the issue of whether he should be responsible for the victim’s medical bills.
Updated at 2:30 p.m. to clarify that Guerra infected his sex partner with HIV. Updated on May 11 to correctly refer to City Attorney Jan Goldsmith as a man.
