SAN DIEGO (AP) – A San Diego man authorities said intentionally spread HIV to his boyfriend has told a judge: “I am not a monster.”
KNSD-TV says Thomas Guerra made that remark on Monday before he was sentenced to six months in jail.
He pleaded no contest last month to a misdemeanor state health code violation.
Prosecutors say Guerra claimed to be HIV-negative and urged his boyfriend to have unprotected sex. His now ex-boyfriend tested positive for HIV in May of 2013.
Guerra denied the allegation at his sentencing in San Diego but Judge Katherine Lewis said she had no doubt he was guilty.
She called his six-month sentence a “travesty” and said she wished she could give him more time.