Dutch couple may have injected dozens with HIV
Taurus
06-05-2007, 08:09 AM
[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/ghb.jpg[/img2]Four HIV positive men from Groeningen province in the north of the Netherlands, in a sensational case, have confessed to the police that they held sex parties where they drugged men with GHB and injected them with their own blood in an attempt to infect them.
Dutch HIV workers said that they were aware that at least 10 men who attended the sex parties had contracted HIV – which implies that considerably more men were victims of the assaults.
The accused are two 48-year old men from Slochteren and two men from Groeningen aged 33 and 34. Two have confessed to the sexual assault and deliberate infection attempts: the other two have so far only admitted to dealing in huge quantities of GHB. One does not define as gay.
Five victims between the ages of 25 and 50 have reported to the police so far and four of them have filed charges.
The Dutch public prosecutor has charged the men with premeditated grievous bodily harm, but said it could not charge them with attempted murder or manslaughter because "the life expectancy of the victims can be extended with medication." The offence carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.
Speaking to Robert Witlox, Director of the Dutch HIV Association, who takes up the story.
"We became aware that something odd was going on in Groeningen about a year ago. Someone came to a support group for people newly diagnosed with HIV and gave us this story about having been drugged unconscious with GHB and raped, which was how he got the virus.
"At first we dismissed it – you hear many such stories in support groups – but several other people came forward with similar stories. One said he had come to to find a man still fucking him without a condom while another said that during the experience he had felt a sharp needle-like pain in his anus."
The suspects have confessed that they took syringes of blood missed from all four of them and injected them into their victims’ anuses.
Witlox continues: "The men would advertise small sex parties – 3-5 people - on the internet. It appears they were doing it on a frequent basis, and it continued right up till they were arrested in May.
"We alerted the public health department in Groeningen who said they had heard similar stories. They put out a press release warning gay men about attending sex parties and saying they had noticed a rise in local HIV infections.
"We finally persuaded the first victim – who does not publicly identify as gay – to make a formal complaint to the police in January."
Witlox commented that one of the features of the case was that the victims appeared largely to be non-gay-identified men seeking bisexual thrills on the internet.
The two who have made confessions to the police said that they were motivated by lust and because if they made other men positive they’d have the opportunity to have unprotected sex with them.
Witlox comments: "In many ways this is a straightforward case. The legal argument about HIV transmission has always been about reckless infection," (i.e. not meaning to infect, but not caring either), "whereas this is a clear case of rape and of attempted deliberate infection.
Judging by the confessions, the accused must have had psychiatric problems around having HIV.
"In talking to the media yesterday, not just myself but also representatives from the Dutch Health Ministry said that this behaviour was not typical of gay men or people with HIV."
Witlox added, however, that since then his organisation has been accused of fostering a culture of normalising unsafe sex.
"Journalists are now linking the case with the fact that we have a support group called Positive and Proud where subjects like serosorting" (i.e. consensual unprotected sex between HIV positive people) "are discussed. We’ve been asked if we have any norms.
"We’ve said: ‘Yes, we do; we’re saying it’s not alright to rape people and deliberately infect them with HIV!’"
Dutch HIV workers said that they were aware that at least 10 men who attended the sex parties had contracted HIV – which implies that considerably more men were victims of the assaults.
The accused are two 48-year old men from Slochteren and two men from Groeningen aged 33 and 34. Two have confessed to the sexual assault and deliberate infection attempts: the other two have so far only admitted to dealing in huge quantities of GHB. One does not define as gay.
Five victims between the ages of 25 and 50 have reported to the police so far and four of them have filed charges.
The Dutch public prosecutor has charged the men with premeditated grievous bodily harm, but said it could not charge them with attempted murder or manslaughter because "the life expectancy of the victims can be extended with medication." The offence carries a maximum penalty of 16 years in prison.
Speaking to Robert Witlox, Director of the Dutch HIV Association, who takes up the story.
"We became aware that something odd was going on in Groeningen about a year ago. Someone came to a support group for people newly diagnosed with HIV and gave us this story about having been drugged unconscious with GHB and raped, which was how he got the virus.
"At first we dismissed it – you hear many such stories in support groups – but several other people came forward with similar stories. One said he had come to to find a man still fucking him without a condom while another said that during the experience he had felt a sharp needle-like pain in his anus."
The suspects have confessed that they took syringes of blood missed from all four of them and injected them into their victims’ anuses.
Witlox continues: "The men would advertise small sex parties – 3-5 people - on the internet. It appears they were doing it on a frequent basis, and it continued right up till they were arrested in May.
"We alerted the public health department in Groeningen who said they had heard similar stories. They put out a press release warning gay men about attending sex parties and saying they had noticed a rise in local HIV infections.
"We finally persuaded the first victim – who does not publicly identify as gay – to make a formal complaint to the police in January."
Witlox commented that one of the features of the case was that the victims appeared largely to be non-gay-identified men seeking bisexual thrills on the internet.
The two who have made confessions to the police said that they were motivated by lust and because if they made other men positive they’d have the opportunity to have unprotected sex with them.
Witlox comments: "In many ways this is a straightforward case. The legal argument about HIV transmission has always been about reckless infection," (i.e. not meaning to infect, but not caring either), "whereas this is a clear case of rape and of attempted deliberate infection.
Judging by the confessions, the accused must have had psychiatric problems around having HIV.
"In talking to the media yesterday, not just myself but also representatives from the Dutch Health Ministry said that this behaviour was not typical of gay men or people with HIV."
Witlox added, however, that since then his organisation has been accused of fostering a culture of normalising unsafe sex.
"Journalists are now linking the case with the fact that we have a support group called Positive and Proud where subjects like serosorting" (i.e. consensual unprotected sex between HIV positive people) "are discussed. We’ve been asked if we have any norms.
"We’ve said: ‘Yes, we do; we’re saying it’s not alright to rape people and deliberately infect them with HIV!’"
Note: No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant free message. However, I do concede, a significant number of electrons may have been inconvenienced.
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