Man with HIV accused of having unprotected sex

ST. PETERS, Mo. (AP) -- A St. Louis area man infected with the virus that causes AIDS faces charges for allegedly having sex with his girlfriend and at least three other women, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Friday.

Aaron Sindelar, 28, of St. Peters, was charged with recklessly risking another with HIV infection, a felony that carries a sentence of five to 15 years in prison. He was in state custody.

Authorities said Sindelar began having unprotected sex with his girlfriend shortly after he got out of prison for second-degree burglary, even though he has known since 2002 that he is HIV positive. The names of the girlfriend and the other women were not released.

The girlfriend is awaiting results of HIV testing, said Gerry Pollard, spokesman for the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department.

There have been other recent cases in the St. Louis area where HIV-positive men were accused of having unprotected sex without divulging their infection.

Last year, a judge found Willie Terry of Alorton, Ill., mentally fit for trial on charges of rape and transmittal of HIV involving an attack on a 16-year-old girl in East St. Louis, Ill. Authorities said Terry knew he was HIV positive.

In 2002, Robert O'Keefe of St. Louis County was sentenced to a year in jail after he admitted infecting his sex partner. The victim told police he had tested negative for HIV before a six-month relationship with O'Keefe and tested positive after their relationship ended.

Three years ago, Marshall Moss was placed on probation and fined $5,000 for exposing a woman to HIV without telling her of his condition.

The most notorious case involved Darnell "Boss Man" McGee. He was diagnosed HIV positive in 1992, yet had unprotected sex with hundreds of girls and young women. Health workers estimated at least 30 victims developed AIDS. He was shot to death in a 1997 robbery.

Missouri is among 30 states that make it a crime to knowingly or willfully expose others to HIV. Risking infection of another with HIV has been a felony in Missouri since 1988.