A St. Charles County, Mo., jury recommended six decades in prison for 23-year-old Michael L. Johnson, who was convicted of infecting one of his sexual partners with HIV, the Associated Press reports.
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According to the report, the jury recommended a 30-year sentence for infecting one partner with the virus that causes AIDS. With Johnson’s other convictions—four counts of risking exposure of the virus to others—his prison term could add up to more than 60 years if the judge orders the sentences to be served consecutively. Johnson’s sentencing hearing is set for July 13, AP notes.
The former college wrestler, who was expelled from Lindenwood University after charges were brought in the case, has been in jail since his 2013 arrest. Prosecutors argued that Johnson recklessly endangered his partners because he knew he was HIV positive. According to AP, he lied to his partners about his status and engaged in sexual activities without protection.
He was acquitted of a sixth charge of exposing another man to HIV, however, because that man testified that he had unprotected sex with Johnson in 2012 but wasn’t diagnosed until the next year.
According to AP, county prosecutor Tim Lohmar thought the jury recommendations were appropriate, saying that the community takes the situation “very seriously.”
Read more at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
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