July 22, 2009

Colorado Man Sentenced 15 Years for Transmitting HIV to Son

Shad Skov was sentenced to 15 years in prison for transmitting HIV to his son, The Associated Press reports. The Grand Junction, Colorado, man had not disclosed his status before having sex with the boy’s mother, his fiancée.

The 34-year-old father pleaded guilty to child abuse and apologized to the woman and his 1-year-old son during his July 17 sentencing.

According to the article, Skov’s fiancée had tested negative for HIV two months into her pregnancy. However, doctors later found that the woman and Skov’s son were positive when the boy, who was extremely underweight, acquired pneumonia at 4 months of age. 

Two other women have told the authorities they had sex with Skov around the time he met his baby’s mother.

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Previous Comments:

Linda, Baltimore, 2009-08-01 14:20:18
I have some questions with this article, #1 what fault does the mother claim in her sons infection? #2 was their 1 or 2 consenting adults in the bed? #3 did any of these woman ask him if he had any thing he could pass on to them not just HIV? last I knew it took 2 to tango and not just 1 person is responcible for provideing protection from diseases. I myself use HIV sites to meet people so if a negative person is on there then they have a good idea your poz, either way I always have condoms!

man in mn., way out therte u.s.a., 2009-07-23 16:22:26
why did she not insist on a condom and she gave birth not him so it came from her to the baby not from the man to the fetis, women need to use and insist on condoms, if not there the gilty ones as well as the penis the allowed into there womb!!!

Chad, San Francsico, 2009-07-23 14:48:42
Technically, the mother transmitted the virus to the child, not the father. Ignorance is bliss!

SirEndure, San Francisco, 2009-07-23 14:06:20
Criminalizing persons transmitting HIV is a slippery slope and will lead to increased discrimination of HIV positive individuals. Prevention, criminalization, sero-sorting, and home-testing all dismiss the reality that until there is a cure, the disease will ultimately affect us all. I suspect that as mainstream populations are affected, a cure will present itself relatively quickly.