Washington Blade - July 14, 2006

NEW YORK - Four youths accused in the alleged gay ûbashing of gay drag performer and singer Kevin Aviance claim he provoked them by calling one of the group "sweetie." "You ain't Diesel," suspect Gerald Johnson, 16, told Aviance, the New York Daily News reported July 8. Johnson was apparently referring to strongman actor Vin Diesel. "Don't eva call me sweetie," Johnson said he told Aviance, the Daily News reported. Reached July 7, Aviance, 38, disputed the assailant's account, and added that the attack that left him with a broken jaw was "unprovoked." The suspects claim they were talking among themselves on June 10 when Aviance bumped into one of them and said, "Calm down, sweetie." A fight ensured. "I did not hit the guy because he was gay," Johnson said in his statement. "I just did not want my friends to think ... I was a pussy," said Johnson. A Manhattan grand jury on July 6 indicted Jarrell Sears, 30; Gregory Archie, 18; Akinso George, 20; and Johnson on two counts of first degree assault: assault and a hate crime.

HIV-positive Baltimore man pleads guilty for failing to disclose status

BALTIMORE (AP) - A man who engaged in unprotected sex without telling his partner he was infected with HIV has been convicted of misdemeanor second-degree assault, frustrating prosecutors who say he should have faced felony charges. Under Maryland law, people convicted of knowingly transferring or attempting to transfer HIV to another person face a sentence of up to three years and a fine of up to $2,500. Robert Williams pleaded guilty to the assault charge on June 22. Charges of reckless endangerment and knowingly attempting to transfer HIV were thrown out. Baltimore Circuit Judge John Glynn sentenced Williams to 10 years but suspended all but the 50 days Williams had already served. He also ordered three years of supervised probation. Williams lived for about six months with Irene Blake before she discovered he was HIV-positive, though Blake has not tested positive herself since that discovery.

Pa. court allows charges for concealing HIV status

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A man accused of concealing his HIV-positive status until after he had sex with his male sex partner can be prosecuted criminally, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled July 7. A three-judge Superior Court panel said a Berks County jury should decide whether Samuel Cordoba's alleged actions amounted to a "gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe." The appeals court reversed a county judge who had thrown out the charge of reckless endangerment. The alleged victim discovered prescription medication he suspected was used to treat HIV after having consensual oral sex with Cordoba in June 2003. Cordoba allegedly later admitted to the man that he was HIV-positive. The victim has since undergone regular testing and results have been negative for any infection, according to court records.

Accuser against Mass. gay daycare worker stands by charges

PITTSFIELD, Mass. (AP) - The woman whose 2-year-old son first accused former day care worker Bernard Baran of sex abuse said she's convinced her son was telling the truth, despite a judge's order for a new trial that freed Baran recently after two decades in prison. The woman, who spoke to the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield on condition of anonymity, said she still remembers her son answering, "Bernie," when she asked who touched him. "I said, 'Are you sure?' And then he told me what Bernie did to him," she said. After the woman came forward, other children at the Pittsfield day care center accused Baran of abuse. Baran was convicted in 1985 of raping five children and sentenced to three life sentences. The woman's son was too upset to testify at trial and the charges related to him were dropped.

Pa. HIV-positive speaker vaccused of lying about illness

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A lesbian who traveled the lecture circuit with her account of being raped and infected with AIDS as a child has been charged with defrauding the state of Pennsylvania of $66,000 by falsely claiming to have the disease. Cassey Weierbach, 27, was arraigned June 30 on charges of theft by deception, forgery, tampering with records and making false statements. She has told her story for years to news reporters, churches, youth groups and medical conferences. But in June, an Allentown pastor accused Weierbach of duping her congregation. Weierbach disputes the claims and says the pastor, Rev. Lois Randolph, was lying because she was upset to learn Weiberch was romantically involved with another woman. "Do you hate me so much because I'm gay that you are willing to destroy my life?" Weierbach said. Arrest records state that Weierbach used fabricated laboratory records to indicate she had AIDS so she could receive medical benefits in 2003.

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