Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - November 23, 2006
Robert Richardson II, 30, apologized at his sentencing Wednesday, but he argued that while his behavior was unethical, it wasn't criminal.
Richardson was found guilty last month of four counts of HIV exposure involving three women, and he was found not guilty of exposing a fourth woman.
Jurors said they were appalled by how he deceived the women by telling them his health problems were from a heart condition. Richardson said he didn't lie, and that he did have a "HAART" condition - short for Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy, the name he used for his HIV-treatment drug regimen.
Defense attorneys said that Richardson had been taking drugs to lower the amount of the virus in his blood and that he believed it was physically impossible for the women to get the virus.
His attorney, Thomas Johnson, argued for probation, claiming the women were not "seriously injured" because all had tested negative for HIV. He also said they engaged in "reckless sex."
The "injury isn't just physical" prosecutor Amy McGowan said.
Richardson was sentenced to 32 months in prison. Other cases are pending against him in Missouri and Kansas.
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