Jail For Infecting Partner With HIV

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - A man who deliberately infected his gay lover with the potentially deadly HIV virus delivered a bizarre monologue from the dock yesterday minutes before he was sentenced to 10½ years' jail for the crime.
Mark Kenneth Reid, 37, took Brisbane District Court judge David Robin, QC, up on his offer of speaking directly to the court – saying he was still concerned about his ex-partner's health and would not repeat his crime.
Reid has been HIV-positive since 1987.
"I consider myself to be a good person, not a perfect person, but – over 17 years of growing and maturing through having a life-threatening illness – I consider myself as growing into a person who is an asset to my friends, my family, my employers and myself," Reid said. "I don't wish HIV on any person . . . I only hope that (the victim) grows and matures to the degree I have."
Reid told Judge Robin he was remorseful for putting his victim and his family, as well as his own family, through the ordeal.
On Thursday, a jury found Reid guilty of committing a malicious act with intent over the incident, the first successful prosecution of its type in Queensland.
The court was told that, after meeting at a hotel in 2003, Reid and his partner immediately began a live-in, sexual relationship and engaged in regular, unprotected sex.
The relationship ended in acrimony less than two months later when the partner discovered he had contracted HIV and suspected Reid was responsible. The only other possible contributors – the victim's former lover, intravenous drug use and needlestick injury – were all ruled out.
The man, whose name cannot be published, told the court this week Reid had repeatedly reassured him he was free of the virus. Reid denied the allegation in his police record of interview and claimed he was always honest about his condition.
He claimed their decision to have unsafe sex was mutual, often made after excessive drinking.
But Judge Robin told Reid yesterday he was satisfied that he had kept his HIV status from his lover.
Prosecutor Ross Martin, SC, asked for a sentence in the range of 12 to 15 years' jail – likening the effects of the crime to cases of attempted murder, given the grave consequences of contracting HIV.
"This case involved a grave breach of the most fundamental trust," Mr Martin told the court yesterday. "There is no remorse."
Defence barrister Bruce Mumford appealed for a jail term of eight years, telling the court while HIV was a chronic illness, medical evidence given during the trial had shown that it could be managed and controlled in a large number of cases.
Mr Mumford said his client had a limited criminal history, had his own health considerations and would be serving his jail term in protective custody because of his HIV status.
"So there is no doubt he will do his time hard, and harder than most," Mr Mumford said.
In sentencing Reid to 10½ years' jail time, Judge Robin said he had some difficulty in accepting the Crown's proposition that the case was on the same level as attempted murder.
from News.com.au