Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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San Francisco Examiner - Thursday, September 18, 2003
Alison Soltau and J.K. Dineen, Of The Examiner Staff
Hill, appointed to the Health Commission partly because of his efforts in the field of HIV prevention, was indicted by a grand jury Friday and arrested Tuesday in Grass Valley.
The District Attorney's office filed the case against Hill following a civil suit brought by Hill's former lover, Thomas Lister, who alleges he contracted HIV from the man who served on the city's health commission from 1997 to 2000.
A San Francisco court last spring imposed a $5 million default judgment against Hill to be awarded to Lister.
Erin Gallagher, the investigator handling the case for the DA's office, said that under California's health and safety code, prosecutors did not have to prove that Hill infected Lister, but that Hill purposely had unprotected sex with Lister when he was carrying the HIV virus.
Gallagher said Hill's own actions would form the basis of the DA's case, including disclosures of his HIV status in city newspapers and Health Commission meetings.
Prosecutors also have evidence to show that Hill deliberately exposed his lover to the threat of the virus, Gallagher said.
The investigator said she expected some backlash within the community at the thought of authorities legislating the bedroom.
"But obviously, there are a lot of irresponsible people out there hurting innocent people," she said. "We weren't sure how this would go over, but the grand jury came back with a strong decision."
Redge Norton, spokesman for SF AIDS Foundation, said his organization has not taken a stance on the criminal case but he was disappointed to see the matter dragged through the civil court.
Reached at home Wednesday, Lister said he could not comment "because of the pending criminal case."
In an interview with The Examiner last year, Lister said he thought Hill should go to jail for what he did.
"In my mind, when you're in a relationship with someone for five months and proclaim you're HIV negative, and they're having unprotected sex with you, there is some form of intent," Lister said. "This was not a one-night-stand type of situation."
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