Halifax, NS, Canada man found guilty of exposing girlfriend to HIV

From The Daily Gleaner

HALIFAX - A Halifax man living with HIV was found guilty Thursday of aggravated sexual assault for not telling his ex-girlfriend about his health condition before having unprotected sex with her.

Blaine Arthur Holland, 36, was diagnosed with HIV in 1995 but his ex-girlfriend, who can't be named, was under the impression he only tested positive in March 2006.

"He's been lying to his friends, his family, to anyone who will listen," the victim said in a brief phone interview after the verdict Thursday. "He knew.

The Halifax woman, 37, agreed to keep dating Holland after he told her, thinking he had just found out. She ended the relationship and went to the police in September 2006, when she discovered from another ex-girlfriend of Holland's that he's known about his condition for much longer.

Consent was the main issue in the trial, Justice Arthur Pickup said during his half-hour decision in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

He explained that although a person may freely agree to have unprotected sex with someone else, the consent is moot if the person was unaware of the partner's HIV status beforehand.
During the two-day trial last month, the victim testified that had she known Holland was infected, she never would have entered into a sexual relationship with him.

She told the court they had sex between 100 and 150 times. They didn't always use a condom, she said, although Holland insists they always practised safer sex.Pickup said it came down to the credibility of Holland and his ex-girlfriend, who has so far tested negative for HIV.

The woman said she got tested for the virus as soon as she found out Holland's status in March 2006. However, Holland testified that he was upfront about his health when the pair started dating a year earlier.Pickup said it "didn't make sense" that the woman would wait a year to get tested if Holland had told her about his condition in March 2005.

A presentence report was requested and Holland will return to court Aug. 14 for sentencing.