A man from Pennsylvania will be spending at least 33 months of his life behind bars after he was found guilty of non-disclosure of his HIV infection to three unsuspecting women.
Ricky Webster, 26, of Northampton County, was sentenced to spend 33 up to 66 months in prison on Wednesday after he failed to inform three female workers with whom he had sex at least thrice each about his HIV infection.
The complaint was filed after one of the women learned of his medical and criminal history. It turns out when he was around 14, he already appeared on television and a documentary to talk about how it is to live with HIV infection. Webster was adopted and contracted the infection from his biological mother.
This is also not the first time that he committed the same act. Around five years ago, two women, one of whom was a minor, had sued him for non-disclosure. He was found guilty and sentenced to four years by the New Jersey court.
So far, none of the previous women tested positive while the present ones are still not in the clear. It takes as early as two weeks and as long as six months before someone can be tested for HIV properly.
Despite the plea from his deacon father, the judge Leonard Zito sentenced him to prison for an act he believed was not only "cowardly" but also "deplorable" and "heinous."
HIV's virus is spread when there's an exchange of fluid such as blood and semen from an infected person. Since it doesn't survive well when outside the body, the virus isn't contracted through kissing or touching someone's sweat. Due to tight regulations and screening, it's also rare for donated organs and blood to have HIV.
As of today, HIV progression can be controlled with antiretroviral drugs. If it's left untreated, it can lead to full-blown acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
