Charge dropped against former Riviera cop accused of giving woman HIV
A criminal charge alleging that a former city police officer withheld his HIV positive status from his girlfriend was dropped Monday, according to court records.
Prosecutors decided not to pursue a charge against X, 48, citing insufficient evidence, a document provided to The Palm Beach Post Monday showed.
“They are very pleased,” attorney Johnny L. McCray, speaking on behalf of X and X’s family, said of Monday’s decision. “It’s a bittersweet moment for my client. We knew it was coming. He’s certainly not proud of the fact he has his current condition (or of) the young lady’s (condition). What’s very unfortunate about it is she lied from the beginning.”
X, a former Riviera Beach police officer who left the department in 1998, was arrested in July 2014 on a charge of Uninformed HIV Infected Sexual Intercourse.
At the time, X’s long-term girlfriend told officers he infected her with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The woman alleged X did not disclose his medical condition until after she learned of her diagnosis and confronted him.
However, there was evidence the woman knew of Richardson’s HIV status several months prior to her diagnosis and that she continued the relationship for several months after, McCray said.
Records show that X was dismissed from Riviera’s police department in November 1998 for violating department policies, including disclosing information to a fellow officer who was under investigation.
He later went to work for a local car dealership.
