“He showed blatant disregard to medical advice he was legally and morally obliged to adhere (disclosing his condition to sex partners).”

One of Walkems victims, now 23, contracted HIV from him.

Gans called her situation “a life sentence of indescribable and monumental proportions, merely to be exacerbated by the callous, selfish and wilful publication of her name” on his blog-site only weeks before his guilty plea.

The second victim, now 30, who had sex with him in 2004, hasnt contracted the disease.
Gans recommended Walkem go to a prison where university courses are available and his costly medication readily available.

Walkems youngest victim is struggling to pay for her own university tuition and expensive life-saving drugs, court heard.

Gans praised the two women for having the “the strength of courage each has demonstrated through this most difficult of ordeals.”

The HIV-infected victims father said “Walkem will always be a threat to society. He has no morality. How could he possibly?”

Walkem pleaded guilty last September to two counts of aggravated sexual assault for having unprotected sex with the two women without revealing he was HIV-positive.
The womens identities are protected by a publication ban.

“These are difficult cases because no sentence imposed will ever give the victim her health back,” said Crown attorney Mary Humphrey, who called for a six- to eight-year sentence.

Defence lawyer Graham Clark, who initially asked for a conditional sentence, asked for a reformatory sentence of under two years plus probation for his client, a first offender.
Gans said the now 23-year-old woman, who met Walkem in July 2002 and dated him for several months, was lied to when she asked if he was “clean” during their first encounter. The second victim was similarly misled, court heard.

According to an agreed statement of facts, Walkem tested positive in December 2001. In February 2002 he was warned by public health nurses to disclose his condition to any sex partners.

The 23-year-old testified she discovered Walkem was HIV positive from one of his co-workers in October 2002.

The woman learned she was HIV positive Dec. 4, 2002, and notified the police in 2003 and 2004 to prevent other women from contracting HIV from Walkem.

He was arrested Aug. 30, 2004, but only spent two months in custody and has been on bail since.

IMPO I think its about time that we had some legal recourse in this jurisdiction. IMO this constitutes assualt with a deadly weapon.

What are your views?

Support the conviction?

Do not support the conviction?

But remember this could happen to you.

Is the sentence enough?

Looking forward to your thoughts.

It’s a journey and it’s interesting where he’s at in that journey. Most guys going what he’s going through don’t discuss it…