Man admitted he deliberately infected himself with HIV to intentionally pass it on
Stephen Koch has been sentenced to 50 years in Arkansas Department of Correction
By Steve Brown
A man admitted he deliberately infected himself with HIV so he could pass it on to other men.
Stephen Koch, 25, from Arkansas, admitted he intended to pass on the virus to other men and deceived men about his HIV status, Queerty reported.
Circuit Judge Robin Green said: “Just so I can get my brain around this, did I understand the state correctly?
“Mr Koch intentionally contracted the HIV virus so he could then infect others? Was that the reason?”
To which Koch replied: “Yes.”
The chief deputy prosecutor said text messages and other communications found Koch had intentionally infected himself with the virus.
During the trial, it was also revealed he deliberately exposed on man to HIV.
He pleaded guilty to attempting to exposing another person to HIV, possession of methamphetamine with purpose to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, delivery of meth and eight counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.
He was sentenced to 50 years in Arkansas Department of Correction and must abide by a suspended sentence agreement for 10 years after his release from prison.
Koch has been added to the sex offenders list and must enrol and complete the prison’s sex offender treatment program.