In Vancouver, two different men have been accused of not disclosing their HIV-positive status prior to sex with their female partners. Local media are having a field day.
The first, a Caucasian man in his late 20s, was arrested on May 19, according to a June 4th CBC News report following which North Vancouver police issued a press release that included the man’s name and photo which appeared in news reports throughout Canada.
“Police have what is called a duty to warn when it comes to things like this and that is one reason we put out a name and photograph so quickly,” [Const. Michael] McLaughlin told CBC News. “One of our primary responsibilities is keeping people safe, and enforcing the law goes along with that.”
The offences date back to May of 2006 and there is a concern that [he] may have headed to Eastern Canada and will continue to have sex with women without telling them about his condition, police said.
The Province makes him seem much more like a calculated serial infector
New Westminster Mounties are hunting for 38-year-old [name of accused], who has been charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault after having sex with three women while knowing he was HIV-positive. Crown counsel has issued a Canada-wide warrant for [his] arrest, as police believe he may have traveled to eastern Canada. The offenses he is charged with date back to May 2006, and police are concerned [he] may plan to put more women at risk.
These BC ‘name, shame and create fear’ cases are in direct contrast to the recent Vancouver court case where the accused was acquitted, and where the judge ordered a publication ban on the name of both the accuser and the accused.
They also contrast with a recent case in Edmonton, Alberta, analysed in an April 23rd Xtra.ca story, where a 50-year-old HIV-positive man was charged with aggravated sexual assault after allegedly failing to disclose his status to his female partner.
The piece quotes a police spokeswoman who explains that they did not release name or photo of the accused in order to protect the man’s partner.
“Releasing any details would without a doubt identify the victim. We are not releasing the name of the accused strictly to protect the identity of the victim. This is not a case of an unknown male with HIV forcing sex on women. The sexual intercourse in this case was consensual. However, the male failed to inform the woman that he was infected with HIV.”
In this case the accused man was released from custody with a trial set for March 2011.