Swedish Doctor Jailed for HIV Exposure

An HIV-positive male physician in Sweden was jailed after being convicted of having unprotected sex with two men.

The doctor, who was not identified, said he did not know he was HIV-positive before the encounters, according to The Local, an English-language site based in Sweden. One of the men was found to be HIV-positive, while the other was not infected.

The Stockholm district court sentenced the doctor to 10 months incarceration on the charge of reckless endangerment and also ordered him to pay compensation of 26,900 kronor ($3,512) to the one of the plaintiffs.

The physician faced further charges of causing the HIV infection and of aggravated assault. Both were thrown out, however, as the court ruled that it could not be proved the caused the infection. Elisabeth Massi Frtiz, the lawyer representing the two men, disagreed with the decision, saying, ""There can be no other person that has infected my client. But we have to obtain a supplementary investigation to prove this,"

His offense is considered serious because he is a certified professional health provider and therefore presumed to be aware of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Diseases Control rules of conduct.