Neal convicted
A man found guilty of infecting people with HIV has been sentenced to 18 years and nine months jail.
Michael John Neal, 49, from the Victorian suburb of Coburg, was sentenced in the Victorian County Court last week, with Judge David Parsons stating Neal sought to become his -艙own version of the grim reaper.
Neal, who has already served more than two years behind bars, was given a 13 year and nine month minimum sentence. He was found guilty of 15 charges, including attempting to infect eight people with HIV, rape, and administering a drug for sexual penetration.
As well, Neal pleaded guilty to producing and possessing child pornography and possessing a drug of dependence.
The court heard Neal, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2000, engaged in reckless behaviour including arranging -艙conversion parties to have unprotected sex without revealing his HIV status.
Neal pleaded not guilty to infecting others with HIV at trial, claiming he believed his viral load level was so low he could not pass the virus on.
Defence lawyer George Georgiou had previously asked the court to consider Neal was part of a subculture where -艙risky sexual behavior is a prominent feature.
Victorian AIDS Council acting CEO, Colin Batrouney, said the sentence reflected the serious nature of exposing others to the HIV virus.
-艙I think what the sentence actually shows is that it’s morally wrong to place someone at risk of contracting a serious illness of any kind, either through deliberate acts or reckless behaviour, he said.
-艙There are rogues in all communities and the gay community isn’t any different in this regard … this case demonstrates current legislative frameworks are in place to deal with these types of rare situations and are working properly.
Batrouney said the VAC does not recommend people with an undetectable load have unsafe sex.
-艙It’s actually been demonstrated in recent studies that people with an undetectable viral load can still pass on HIV, and particularly in casual settings, he said.
-艙If a person has an undetectable viral load and the presence of another sexually transmitted infection that’s not HIV, that can increase the risk of transmission, so we don’t actually believe that an undetectable viral load per se, is an adequate protection against onward transmission of HIV.
The case is the first prosecution of its kind in Victoria.
