HIV-Positive
Soldier Pleads Guilty to Assault for Unprotected Sex

An HIV-positive paratrooper pleaded guilty to assault Thursday for knowingly having unprotected sex with a teenager he met online. Pfc. Johnny Lamar Dalton, 25, who is a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, entered his plea during a court-martial at Fort Bragg, N.C. A military judge sentenced Dalton to 40 months in prison. The sentence included a reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge. Dalton was ordered last November not to have unprotected sex after he was found to have HIV. State law also prohibits a person infected with HIV from having sex unless condoms are used and sexual partners are notified. Doctors discovered the 17-year-old had HIV during a routine blood test, and his mother notified the military. Dalton also pleaded guilty to violating a direct order, aggravated assault, committing an indecent act, and using marijuana. (AP)