A charge has been stayed against a Yellowknife man after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman by failing to disclose his HIV-positive status.
Bobby Kaotalok, 33, was charged with aggravated sexual assault SA国际影视传媒� a charge that can be applied in HIV non-disclosure cases SA国际影视传媒� late last year.
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, a virus that, if untreated, can lead to AIDS.
The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2012 that a person must disclose his or her HIV positive status SA国际影视传媒渂efore sexual activity that poses a realistic possibility of transmission, so that the HIV negative sexual partner has the opportunity to choose whether to assume the risk of being infected with HIV,SA国际影视传媒� according to the federal governmentSA国际影视传媒檚 website.
When Kaotalok appeared in NWT territorial court to answer to the lone charge in mid-December, Crown prosecutors noted that, due to new federal directions under the Public Prosecution of Canada related to the prosecution of HIV non-disclosure cases, KaotalokSA国际影视传媒檚 charge may not move forward.
In an effort to recognize and curb the negative impact of the SA国际影视传媒渙ver-criminalizationSA国际影视传媒� of HIV non-disclosure cases, which could dissuade others from pursuing testing and treatment, the new guidelines, issued by former federal Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould, directs Crowns attorneys not to prosecute if the HIV-positive person maintains a SA国际影视传媒渟uppressed viral load (i.e. under 200 copies of the virus per millilitre of blood) because there is no realistic possibility of transmission,SA国际影视传媒� according to the Government of CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 website.
The new directive states that there should not be prosecution where the person living with HIV has maintained a suppressed viral load (i.e. under 200 copies of the virus per millilitre of blood) because there is no realistic possibility of transmission.
Crown attorneys are advised, under the directive to SA国际影视传媒済enerally not prosecute where the person has not maintained a suppressed viral load but used condoms or engaged only in oral sex or was taking treatment as prescribed unless other risk factors are present, because there is likely no realistic possibility of transmission in such cases.SA国际影视传媒�
Prosecutors must now also consider whether a person living with HIV has SA国际影视传媒渟ought or received services from public health authorities, in order to determine whether it is in the public interest to pursue criminal charges.SA国际影视传媒�
Those directives, according to prosecutor Alex Godfrey, played a role in KaotalokSA国际影视传媒檚 charge ultimately being stayed. In December, KaotalokSA国际影视传媒檚 matter was adjourned in order for the Crown to receive medical reports related to the accused.
SA国际影视传媒淩eviewing those medical reports in light of the new directive SA国际影视传媒� thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what led us to stay the charge,SA国际影视传媒� Godfrey told Yellowknifer Tuesday.
Due to privacy concerns, Godfrey couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 say specifically what was in the medical report that led to the charge being stayed.
Kaotalok received a three-and-a-half-year sentence in 2013 after pleading guilty to two counts of the same offence, aggravated sexual assault.
The federal government says it will continue to prosecute people living with HIV who fail SA国际影视传媒渢o disclose, or misrepresent their HIV status before sexual activity that poses a realistic possibility of HIV transmission.
