12-year sentence for HIV-positive man who knowingly infected partners
An HIV-positive Frenchman was sentenced to 12 years in jail on Thursday for knowingly infecting one of his partners and exposing five others to the virus.
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A court in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, sentenced Christophe Morat, 40, to 12 years in prison - although the prosecution initially requested a 15-year sentence - for having unprotected sex with the women even though he knew he was HIV-positive.
"It's a harsh sentence," said Christophe Bass, one of Morat's lawyers. "We don't understand the court decision."
For the victims, lawyer Eric Morain expressed relief.
"The court has taken away, for 12 years, his licence to contaminate," he said.
Having been HIV-positive since 1998 at least, Morat is a recidivist who was jailed for six years in 2005 for passing on the virus to two of his partners.
At the end of the hearing, Morat asked the women affected for forgiveness.
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