US man gets 45 years for spreading HIV through sex

Updated on: 01 June,2009 11:49 AM IST |
Agencies |

A jury sentenced a man in the state of Texas to 45 years in prison for knowingly infecting six women with the AIDS virus.

A jury sentenced a man in the state of Texas to 45 years in prison for knowingly infecting six women with the AIDS virus.

Philippe Padieu (53), described by his own lawyer as a "modern-day Casanova", shook his head and looked down when the decision was read. Jurors sentenced him to 45 years on five counts and 25 years on the sixth, to be served concurrently. Padieu had faced up to 99 years.

Padieu was convicted on six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Since HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, prosecutors contended Padieu's bodily fluids were a deadly weapon.

Padieu is a former martial arts instructor who continued to have unprotected sex after he tested positive for HIV in 2005.

The prosecutor said Padieu deserved a life sentence. But defense attorney Bennie House said Padieu may have made mistakes as a "modern-day Casanova", but did not intentionally spread the virus. He said a 20-year sentence would be fair.

Padieu had earlier told the court that he was a victim of overzealous prosecutors. He said the women who accused him had all had multiple partners.

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