San Diego man jailed for intentionally spreading HIV: “I am not a monster”
“I am not a monster. I would never ever do something like what I’m accused of.”
–Thomas Miguel Guerra, a San Diego gay man sentenced to six months in jail for intentionally infecting his ex-boyfriend with HIV, as well as exposing other men to the virus, NBC San Diego reports.
Guerra pleaded no contest to violating a state health code, but showed little remorse during a sentencing hearing. Judge Katherine Lewis was visibly angry with Guerra, telling the court, “There’s no question in my mind that he’s guilty. There’s no doubt in my mind, Mr. Guerra would have been convicted [had his case gone to trial].”
She called his misdemeanor charge a “travesty.”
“I think that’s a tremendous oversight in the law if this is just a misdemeanor,” she said. “If any good comes out of it, that this law would change.”
After Guerra told the court that his ex was “reckless” for hooking up with him via Grindr.
“I don’t think in my 25-plus years in a law, I’ve ever seen somebody be so lacking of insight, blame or responsibility that you have demonstrated,” Lewis retorted.
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