HIV+ Man Jailed For Having Bareback Sex

[Lee]

A medical student in Atlanta faces felony charges for having unprotected consensual sex without telling his partners his HIV status.

Police say that in April 2004, Garry Wayne Carriker, a 26-year-old fourth-year medical student who had graduated from the Air Force Academy, had already been dating John Withrow for five months before he revealed he was HIV-positive.

Withrow decided to press charges. "The reason I came forward to file a complaint was to stop him from victimizing someone else," he told the Associated Press (AP).

Carriker posted bond, but was then accused of having unprotected sex with two other men in Atlanta's Fulton County without telling them his HIV status.

Superior Court Judge Johnnie Caldwell Jr. revoked Carriker's $5,600 bond. He now faces three counts of felony reckless conduct.

If prosecutors can prove Carriker knew he had HIV during the alleged encounters and did not warn his partners, he could spend up to 10 years in prison.

While the felony reckless conduct charge is rarely used, some in the gay community think it's the best way to handle a health crisis.

"Since Carriker is not accepting responsibility for his own health status, perhaps the law is needed to protect others," Chuck Bowen, the executive director of Georgia Equality told the PlanetOut Network.

Joel Ginsberg, interim director of the San Francisco-based Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, says the prosecution's plan could backfire.

"From a public health perspective, the most important thing is that both sexual partners, not just the HIV-positive one, take responsibility for preventing infection," he said. "Criminal prosecution could undermine public health if it discourages testing."

According to the AP, Carriker's arrest has sent a jolt through Atlanta's LGBT community. One activist launched a Web site devoted to the case, listing the clubs Carriker frequented and urging those who may have been involved with him to get tested.

"It's really amazing to me that, in this day and time, people would have unprotected sex," said Bowen. "I think it demonstrates that both partners need to be honest about their HIV status."

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2005/07/19/4

Crazy stuff, you'd think in this day and age people would have the common decency to let their partners / fuck buddies know about something like this.

Reminds me of another case i read about recently where a HIV+ woman deliberatly went around infecting guys, i beleive she got jailed to.

Regards,

Lee

[basschick]

so now this guy wants to get the law further involved in our personal lives.

too bad he couldn't do the responsible adult thing and make sure that both he and his partner use a fucking condom during all sexual activities. i know of a guy who had unprotected sex with a bunch of partners, too... and infected a number of street boys. there is no way to know, and i notice we only hear about hiv in the news. hep c is out there, and with all the aids medications that are working successfully, hep c is going to be the one that kills more quickly.

[Jasun]

Welcome to America... Land of No Personal Responsibility and Lawsuits.

just plain dumb.

Sorry, but anyone who's not having protected sex in the freaking 21st Century should have their heads examined.

[Bec]

Lee... I think you're referring to a posting about a woman who knew she had aids and was deliberately infecting young men at a local high school ... but that story was never substantiated and may of been just rumor.

As to this whole mess ... I have to agree with Jasun ... we're being forced to put laws into place to protect innocents because someone can't accept responsibility for their own actions. :wacko:

[jIgG]

:wtf: :wacko:

[Lee]

Lee... I think you're referring to a posting about a woman who knew she had aids and was deliberately infecting young men at a local high school ... but that story was never substantiated and may of been just rumor.

Nope...

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/1176712.cms

Looks pretty real to me

Regards,

Lee

[BDBionic]

I'm not gonna be so quick to denounce these people. The way these stories are covered in the media it's as if there's no other explanation than the malicious intent of one person to go around intentionally infecting and inflicting harm upon others.

But I don't see any evidence of that. Negligence and irresponsiblity? Sure, that's there. But the impression these stories give of HIV + people lurking in the shadows, waiting to pounce on unsuspecting victims and assault them with a retrovirus is kind of misleading.

It takes two to tango, and people are just as responsible for protecting themselves as anyone else is for protecting others.

These kinds of sensationalist media stories do more to harm than help. Just like the case of David Acer and Kimberly Bergalis, where the whole nation was up in arms about this dentist having infected this pure, innocent, virgin victim. And what do we not hear of? Numerous investigations by the CDC never having been able to determine just how Acer could possibly have infected Bergalis and that every possible scenario authorities tried to come up with to explain how it could have taken place were dropped and abandoned as entirely unlikely. That's not to take away from the tragedy of what happened to Bergalis (she passed away, as I'm sure people are aware), but it points to how the media only delivers part of the story, and in a fashion that leaves people no choice but to leave with an impression that might not be accurate.

Certainly people should be open and honest with their partners. But I can only imagine that's easier said than done, and the kind of anxiety, stress and fear involved in doing so shouldn't be ignored or underestimated. Are these people running about willfully infecting others out of malice? Hardly. Is there so much fear, misunderstanding, and hysteria surrounding HIV/AIDS that people make the wrong decisions or have the wrong motivations about it? That's what I think is most likely.

Here's the lesson of the day... protect yourself. That way it don't matter what anyone else says about their status because you've taken your own in to your own hands.

[BDBionic]

Speaking of sensationalized hysteria regarding HIV, check out this story

[Jasun]

That's not to take away from the tragedy of what happened to Bergalis (she passed away, as I'm sure people are aware), but it points to how the media only delivers part of the story, and in a fashion that leaves people no choice but to leave with an impression that might not be accurate.

Well.. if that story had happened a few years later.. maybe some journalist would have done a bit more digging before the hysteria started.

My mother stopped going to our family dentist of 10 years because he was single. And therefore gay.

Kimberley Bergalis insisted she was a virgin and wanted cash.

But then old boyfriends started appearing, and medical records showing she had been treated for ANAL WARTS. You don't get THOSE off a door knob.

She probably just wanted money and because of her, many laws about disclosure were written.. and in the end, it seems that she was just a lying gold-digger.

Use a condom or get a disease... it's just that easy.

[DonMike]

You know, Brian's link just shows how people who don't have the education about this disease can behave totally irrationally about it. Shortly after I told my sister I was gay I was at my parents' house and I banged my head. My mom pulled out a tissue and started to wipe my forehead and my sister freaked out. She yelled "Don't touch him! He can take care of it himself". I was really surprised by this but then I realized that she thought just because I was gay that I must have AIDS.

[Bec]

Was just sitting here thinking about this ... and foresee things like a scannable credit card type thing that can update a person's status, or a pee test like for pregnancy or a blood strip machine like they have for diabetics ... something for immediate results that says you're clean or you aren't. But then, those not smart enough to use a condom wouldn't be using those either I suppose.

[desslock]

Statements like these:

** "Since Carriker is not accepting responsibility for his own health status, perhaps the law is needed to protect others," Chuck Bowen, the executive director of Georgia Equality told the PlanetOut Network.

** Withrow decided to press charges. "The reason I came forward to file a complaint was to stop him from victimizing someone else," he told the AP.

These statements could easily have spoken by the Christian Coalistion or the Family Reasearch Council in regards to how they perceive homosexuals as sexual predators. This is yet just another example of the self-appointed "Good Guys" who promote equal rights for gays really are no different from the people they supposedly oppose. Both are highly moralistic.

If laws like these are ok, I suppose therefore a state could pass a law making barebacking a criminal activity. An interesting historical turn - in the 70s, gay rights was about sexual freedom. Today it is dominated with encompassing committed marriage into same sex relationships -- an opposite life behavior. (I'm not criticizing either, just observing)

It is ridiculous to presume everyone will follow their mating rituals according to strict legal protocols... which of course must follow the acceptable moral codes, which I suppose would be the Christian Coalition's or Georgia Equality's. You name the dominant faction of whereever you happen to be.

Furthermore, this is a classic example of how everybody overreacts to HIV. And it also seems to be a convenient way for any jilted lover to publically humiliate a sexual partner, and enrich themselves with financial compensation.

Steve

[Lee]

Was just sitting here thinking about this ... and foresee things like a scannable credit card type thing that can update a person's status, or a pee test like for pregnancy or a blood strip machine like they have for diabetics ... something for immediate results that says you're clean or you aren't. But then, those not smart enough to use a condom wouldn't be using those either I suppose.

There is already an 'instant' hiv/aids test type thing on the market but, the costs of it are astronomical from what i understand.

There was talk about AIM utilizing these tests for their 'talent' when the industry had that big ol' HIV scare a few months back of course, it appears it was just talk and i havent seen aything positive come of it

Regards,

Lee

[DonMike]

Getting to government to impliment laws governing sexual behaviour only gives them more clout to take more and more of our rights away. Boo hoo, he didn't tell me he was positive and passed it on to me. Yeah, I can see how he held you down against your will, drugged you and made you have unprotected sex with him. I'm sorry Mr. Withrow, you took that chance. We all take that chance when we have sex. You can't sue the maker of the gun when you lose playing Russian Roulette.

The sad thing is that I often hear people say, "I always have safe sex, well unless I'm dating someone, then it's okay because we're in a relationship". Is that not the biggest load of crap you've ever heard? Like, being in a relationship makes the hiv disappear. Or just because you are dating someone they will never lie to you. Grrrr. Okay, I'm bitter, I totally admit it. :shifty:

[BananaMan]

It's a very interesting story. I linked to it from BG Wire:
Poz man charged for not informing partners

I editorialized a little at the end though:

While some health experts say that using the law to enforce safer sex practices is acceptable, others note that the responsibility for safer sex rests with both partners; since individuals often do not know their current HIV status, condoms should always be used in casual encounters.

There's a lot in the story that is untold. Like why the man's partners all consented to condomless fucking - do they actually think that if someone tells them they're negative, they actually are? How naive.