HIV infection case: Urgent name supression

Photo / File

An urgent hearing was arranged yesterday to put name suppression in place for an Aucklander charged with infecting another man with HIV.

The case of the defendant, aged in his 40s, first came before the court on Tuesday when he appeared before a registrar charged with one count of causing grievous bodily harm with reckless disregard and one of committing a criminal nuisance by doing an unlawful act.

It is alleged that between December and January he "failed to take reasonable precaution of a dangerous thing, namely HIV, knowing such an act would endanger the life of [the complainant]".

Due to an oversight by both prosecution and defence, suppression was not discussed for either the defendant or complainant.

But when NZME. News Service showed an interest in the case, police said they would consider an injunction to keep the names of the parties from being published.

A hearing was hastily organised for yesterday morning before a community magistrate who granted the suppression orders.

The defendant was remanded on bail to his Auckland home.

He was ordered not to associate with the complainant.

His lawyer Lincoln Burns said his client denied the allegations and intended to defend the charges.

He said the man was "very distressed" but would not elaborate on whether he had told family and friends about the situation.

No plea has formally been entered but Mr Burns said that would take place at the next hearing at the end of the month.

The police had not yet provided any disclosure of the evidence they relied on to prove the charge and the lawyer expected it to be some time before that happened.

"You can imagine this sort of prosecution would be quite complex," he said.

Detective Inspector Chris Cahill praised the complainant for having the bravery to come forward and said anyone else finding themselves in similar circumstances should also contact police.

There have only been a handful of similar prosecutions in the past and Mr Cahill said it was a challenge just to get cases before the court.

In 2009, Glenn Richard Albert Mills was facing 28 charges against 14 complainants when he was found dead while on remand in custody.

About 100 people came forward for HIV testing after media coverage of Mills' case.

Police would not comment on whether they had similar concerns about the most recent case before the court.

He faces a maximum of seven years in prison if found guilty.

The issue of suppression will be revisited at the next hearing later this month.