STATUS UPDATE

HIV-Positive Men Jailed For Not Revealing Status To 16-Year-Old Grindr Hookup

fl-men-accused-of-hiv-crime-20130117-001Two Florida men are awaiting trial after having unprotected sex with a 16-year-old and not disclosing their HIV-positive status.

On December 12, Pembroke Pines residents Darrell Allen Evans, 40, and Huy Kien Trinh, 32, met an unnamed teen on Grindr and invited him over for an assignation.

After some hot-tubbing and poppers, the three had unprotected sex. Evans and Trinh told the teen they were HIV-negative.

The two men have been charged with several counts of sexual assault of a minor, and not disclosing their HIV status (a crime in Florida). The Sun Sentinel reports that authorities had considered filing attempted-murder charges.

“Heavens knows how many victims we may have out there,” Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder said during the hearing, remarking that after the men waived their Miranda rights, they told police that they “regularly meet other males and engage in unprotected sex without notifying them that they are HIV-positive.”

At a January 11 hearing, Judge Ian Richards set Evans’ bond at $410,000 and Trinh’s at $420,000, and prohibited both men from using the Internet, associating with minors or having sex with anyone, period. (Is that even legal?)

“I do consider you a threat to the community,” Richards said, stopping short of charging each man with attempted murder and instead fashioning their bond to reflect their failure to disclose the potentially fatal virus.

As neither could post bail, they’re currently in jail until their court date.

In the past four years, more than 150 Americans have been arrested for exposing sexual partners to HIV. Because of the nature of some statutes, though, even those who disclosed their status—or who didn’t, but used condoms and didn’t transmit the virus—can be convicted in some states.

It’s unclear what prompted the youth to go the police, and whether or not he contracted the virus from Evans or Trinh.

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