A 39-year-old man was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for “administering a harmful substance”. He had concealed from his partner that he had AIDS.
The Gard Assize Court was to try a 39-year-old man, Rui Filipe Da Rocha from Sousa, for having deliberately concealed his HIV status from his partner and having infected her with the AIDS virus. As the man did not show up for his trial, the president of the court decided to judge the case under the “criminal default” procedure, and sentenced him to 12 years’ imprisonment. An arrest warrant has been issued against him.
This procedure replaces trials in absentia, and allows the case to be judged without jurors, witnesses or experts. After an hour of deliberation, the president and her two assessors condemned him for “administration of a harmful substance followed by mutilation or permanent infirmity by a person being, or having been a concubine, and with premeditation”.
“I did not have the cards in hand”
The girl, then 16 years old, had met the accused in 2005, 28 years old, and drug addict. The young couple lived together, without the man revealing that he was infected with HIV and hepatitis B, according to the victim. An element that the defendant denied during the investigation. It was only after a few months of relationship, in March 2006, that the defendant’s brother had informed her of his HIV-positive status. “I did not have the cards in hand,” Vanessa, the victim, told AFP. No one wants to be sick, even for love. For him, it was like the flu, it didn’t matter ”.
Despite this announcement, the couple continued to date, and it was ultimately the young man who decided to end the relationship, learning in October 2006 that his partner was pregnant. She then found herself alone and HIV positive. After a first complaint dismissed, the victim’s lawyer filed an appeal by constituting a civil party.
The accused’s lawyer, Me Eurian Thomasian, pleaded acquittal. “I think that legally, the offense can only be retained, she had declared before the judgment. Simply, he is a person of Portuguese origin, who is not very educated. He did not understand the consequences of the HIV virus. He didn’t think he could pass it on ”. Even she has no more news from him, and regrets that he did not show up at his trial “to ask for forgiveness”.
.
