Woman with HIV gets 10-year term for having unprotected sex

ST. CHARLES, Mo. -- An HIV-positive woman who had unprotected sex with her then-boyfriend was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison.

Angela Harris, 27, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty in September to two counts of knowingly and recklessly risking infection of another person with HIV. She could be eligible for parole in four years.

Harris was arrested in February 2006, not long after the boyfriend learned of her infection from Harris' mother.

The former boyfriend has tested negative for HIV, prosecutors said.

Harris' lawyer, Deborah Alessi, said Harris had not wanted to engage in sex with her partner until they were in a committed relationship and had said he should use protection.

Even so, Harris was remorseful that she had not disclosed her HIV-positive status, Alessi said.

A prosecutor in St. Charles County, Dulany Harms, said Harris' behavior was reckless, and that she was required by law to notify a partner of her HIV status.

Each count carried the potential sentence of between five and 15 years in prison.