Calgarian who didn't tell partners he had HIV pleads guilty to 6 counts of sexual assault

A Calgary man has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault, after he had sex with six women without telling them he was HIV positive.

John Joseph McNamara was charged with offences that took place in south and central Alberta between 2012 and 2013. One of the offences occurred while McNamara was out on bail for earlier charges.

McNamaramet the women on local online dating sites.

"This wasn't a case, generally speaking, where there was any kind of violence or anything along those lines. These are cases involving non-disclosure of a certain medical status and whether or not that has to be done," said McNamara's defence lawyer, Shamsher Kothari.

Victims did notcontract HIV

McNamaradidn't tell five of the women that he had HIV, according to an agreed statement of facts, and lied to one woman who specifically asked him a number of times if he had any sexually-transmitted diseases.

While the sex was initially consensual, Kothari said the non-disclosure of McNamara's status legally invalidated that consent.

None of the women contracted HIV from the sexual encounters.

Kotharisaid he believes the law is outdated when it comes to whether someone needs to disclose they are HIV positive, as recent medical advances have reduced the risk of transmission.

"Individuals who are HIV positive and who are on anti-retroviral therapy and exhibit low viral loads and are consistent with their medical treatment at some point may not have to disclose their status," Kothari said.

The Ontario government announced in December 2017 that it won't prosecute people with HIV who don't disclose their status if there is no realistic possibility of transmission.

The province also urged the federal government to consider Criminal Code reforms in light of scientific evidence that, if treated properly, risk of transmission is negligible.

"We're obviously dealing with something that has a lot of stigma," Kotharisaid.

McNamara did not take medication or use condoms

However, McNamara was not taking his medication at the time of the offences, and had a high viral load, putting him at ahigh risk of spreading the virus. He did not follow his clinic's policy of having check-ups every three months.

He also did not use a condom with the victims, which can reduce the risk of transmission by 80 per cent, according to the agreed statement of facts.

A sentencing date will be set in March.

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