In an escalation of the usual charges facing people in Canada for allegedly not disclosing their HIV status before unprotected sex, a 28 year-old Toronto man is now facing attempted murder as well as aggravated assault charges.
How do we know this? Because the Toronto police held a press conference, making it appear as if the man was some kind of serial killer. Xtra.ca reports:
“We have reason to believe he attended Church and Wellesley and may have actually engaged in sexual activities without disclosing his HIV status,” said Const Brad Stapleton of the Toronto Sex Crimes Unit at a May 7 press conference.
There appears to be no evidence of this, but according to the Globe and Mail:
“We are appealing to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. If you had any contact with this male, contact the Toronto sex crime unit,” Constable Stapleton said.
A more obvious fishing expedition is hard to imagine (it was issued under the smokescreen of a ‘public safety alert’). There’s scant information from any of the Toronto papers that ran stories, most of which published the man’s name and photo. The most detailed is from the aforementioned G&M:
Police laid charges after the alleged victim, who is said to have met [the man] on an Internet dating service, came forward. Police believe [he] has had sexual relations with additional people in which he did not disclose his status. Constable Stapleton said [the man] has known he was HIV positive since 2000 and has been a regular in the Church and Wellesley area for the past five years…He wouldn’t elaborate on the charges or say whether the alleged victim contracted HIV from [the accused man].