February 24, 2010

Former Olympic Equestrian Pleads Not Guilty in HIV Exposure Case

Former U.S. Olympic equestrian Darren Chiacchia has pleaded not guilty to violating a Florida law requiring HIV-positive people to disclose their status before having sex with a partner, ocala.com reports.

According to the article, Chiacchia—a 2004 bronze medalist—was arrested last month and charged with a first degree felony after an unnamed male sexual partner came forward and claimed that Chiacchia told him at the beginning of their relationship that he did not have any sexually transmitted infections. The pair had unprotected sex several times between February and June 2009.

The article does not mention whether Chiacchia’s former partner is positive.

The partner told investigators that he learned of Chiacchia’s HIV status after coming across medical documents during a trip to New York. He also showed investigators an e-mail he received, which he said supports the claim that Chiacchia was fully aware of his HIV status in 2008.

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Thomas, Cleveland, 2010-02-25 20:53:09
I disagree that Darren Chiacchia should be hold solely guilty for not having protected sex. The other man with whom he had sex with also have a responsible to be accountable for his own actions. He should be using a condom regardless. What to say a person test negative today, but the virus is dormant in his body, then shows up and he is not aware of being positive? Is he still guilty of having sex without disclosing? What about other sexual diseases that leads to death eventually. Syphilis?