Tech. Sgt. David Gutierrez, a 10-year veteran of the Air Force who this week faced a court marshal after allegedly having unprotected sex with multiple partners at swinging parties he attended with his wife, and lying about being HIV-positive, was sentenced to eight years in a military prison — and a dishonorable discharged. Gutierrez — who was found guilty of seven counts of aggravated assault, violating his commander’s orders (to notify his partners that he is HIV-positive), and for to notify partners about his HIV status and use condoms. The judge also convicted Gutierrez of indecent acts for having sex in front of others and eight counts of adultery. He pleaded with the sentencing judge at McConnell Air Force Base not to discharge him, because it would mean he would lose his benefits, and even offered to serve more time in jail if he could keep his benefits: “The possibility of a future without assistance does scare me, scares me to the core. The cost of medicine is very expensive and I don’t know if I can afford it.” Even prosecutors asked the judge to let him keep his benefits; the judge was not sympathetic.
sentencing
GUILTY: Air Force Tech. Sgt. David Gutierrez Gets 8 Years For HIV+ Sex Swinging
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ALEX
Do the partners share any liability for unprotected sex? I agree he had a responsibility for informing his partners about his HIV status, and I hope his dick falls off, but where does the responsibility for protecting against HIV transmission belong? Just trying to think this through…
scott ny'er
Dude. Own up. What a coward. He’s in the military and can’t disclose his status. That’s pathetic. I guess it’s easy to shoot someone and be shot at but to actually tell someone up close, that you could have given them HIV. No guts, eh?
DR
If this were a case where his commanding officer hadn’t ordered him to use condoms and disclose his status, I might (and stress *might*) be more sympathetic regarding his discharge and loss of benefits since meds, should he develop any complications, would be expensive.
Since he made some people aware of his status, refused to follow more than reasonable orders, and continued to put others at risk of exposure, he got what he deserved.
Cam
@ALEX:
He was ordered to disclose his status to sex partners and ordered to use a condom. Sure, everybody should always take precautions, but if somebody forgets to lock their door, they might be stupid, but the burgler who came in and robbed the place is still the person responsible.
Paul in Canada
Hey NOM, is this what you want to protect?
ALEX
@Cam: I don’t think forgetting to lock the door is similar to deciding not to practice safe sex. If you see the burglar coming up the walk and still refuse to lock the door, he doesn’t break in. He was allowed in.
no thanks
@ Alex,
Do victims of gun violence share any liability for being shot? Should they not have been walking down the street or wherever they were when they got shot?
We don’t need to demonize hiv+ people, but we do need to recognize that they are the ones who have a transmittable disease that can kill others.
People should use protection, this is clear, but people who have the ability to transmit a deadly disease should feel behooved to do so if they are not interested in disclosing their status.
What is so difficult for people to understand about that? We should care for and help our friends and neighbors who are infected, but we should not continue with the same laissez faire attitude towards sex that contributed to the rapid spread of this disease when it first emerged.