Iowa Court Tosses Sentence in HIV Exposure Case

Source: ProPublica

After a three-year legal battle, Iowa's highest court has thrown out the sentence of Nick Rhoades, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison and lifetime sex offender registration for criminal transmission of HIV.

Rhoades, whose case was central to a ProPublica investigation published last year, pleaded guilty to the charge in 2009 after failing to inform a one-time sexual partner that he was HIV-positive.

The investigation, co-published with BuzzFeed, found 541 cases across 19 states in which defendants were convicted or pleaded guilty to similar crimes. Some incurred harsh penalties even though they had not infected anyone or had used protective measures, such as wearing condoms or taking antiviral drugs that reduced the risk of transmitting HIV.

In a 6-1 ruling issued last week, Iowa's Supreme Court set aside Rhoades' sentence, saying his trial lawyer provided ineffective counsel when he allowed Rhoades to plead guilty to a charge for which there was no factual basis.


Read more: http://www.propublica.org/article/iowa-court-tosses-sentence-in-hiv-exposure-case