
An Arkansas man contracted the HIV virus to spread it to others. Credit: Benton County Jail.
A 25-year-old man from Arkansas was sentenced to half a century in prison for willfully getting infected with the HIV virus so he could give it to other people. On Monday, Stephen Koch pleaded guilty to allegations that he tried to infect another person with the virus.
He also admitted that he possessed and planned to sell methamphetamine and that he viewed child porn. Koch was initially taken into custody on drug charges, but a person familiar with the situation told the police that he possessed child pornography as well.
Investigators found on the man’s personal computer evidence that he had been diagnosed with HIV and planned to intentionally infect other people. The man wanted to take part in a double data and lie to his partner about the disease.
Man Pleads Guilty to All Charges
The man pleaded guilty to all charges and acknowledged that his behavior was “self-destructive.” When the court asked him if he was about to infect other people being fully aware that he carried the virus, he replied, “Yes.”
The judge sentenced him to 50 years behind bars and ordered for him to be registered as a sex offender.
Last fall, a gay British hairdresser was found guilty of trying to infect 10 men with the virus. He was able to infect five people before he was caught. He was charged with grievous bodily harm and sentenced to 12 years in prison in a case that is a nation’s first.
Prosecutors said that the man found new victims via a dating app for gays and coerced them into having unprotected sex. When the victims refused, he tampered with the condom. After having sex, he sent his sex partners short text messages telling them that he had HIV “LOL. Oops.”
Image Source: Benton County Jail