An HIV-positive man charged with intentionally infecting others was also under police investigation for allegedly drugging and raping two men.
A second investigation was launched into Glenn Mills - who was this week found dead in his cell - when two men came forward independently after details of his charges were reported.
One of the men, a former boyfriend of Mills, emailed the Weekend Herald and said he was drugged and raped "by the man I loved" a few months after they separated in 2006. The man, in his 20s, described Mills as a kind and gentle friend, a loving son, who had been vilified in the media.
Although he had now forgiven his partner of two years, the man said the rape was "horrific" and he had suffered from self-harm, bulimia and alcoholism for the past three years.
He contacted police after watching television with his family and discovering that Mills had been charged with intentionally infecting sexual partners with HIV.
That night, the ex-boyfriend drove to Wellington for an urgent HIV test, which proved negative, then was convinced to lay a formal complaint with police in Auckland.
He told police that he acted as a sober driver and took Mills home after he had been drinking.
Once home, Mills allegedly handed him an open can of beer, then a second. The man said he felt woozy and went to sleep in the spare bedroom. He told police he was unable to move, but was conscious, when Mills raped him.
Eventually able to move, the man was too embarrassed to seek medical treatment or lay a complaint with police until the HIV allegations were made public.
"It was a secret. Only the police and my business partner know about this. My family don't know, my friends don't know, no one knows. It was horrific."
The Weekend Herald understands a second man contacted police the same day and made similar allegations of drug rape.
The ex-boyfriend wrote in an email: "I was the lucky one, I was before he contracted the disease. I wake with terror still and smells, sounds remind me constantly. I will live my life sentence in peaceful reflection, not hate, but in light, for we all choose our own path."
He went to Mills' funeral yesterday to "grieve for a friend" whom he had forgiven. While he said Mills' alleged deliberate infecting of other sexual partners was "very, very wrong", he could understand the anger behind his actions.
"I don't condone what he did by any means. But I understand where he came from, I understand why he did what he did. Someone did it to him. Someone infected him first. He was doing what someone else did to him."
Detective Sergeant Andy King, the officer in charge of the HIV case, yesterday confirmed police had been investigating the drug rape allegations but declined to comment further.
Mills, 40, who faced criminal charges in relation to 14 alleged victims, was found dead in Mt Eden Prison this week.
He was diagnosed as HIV-positive in May 2007 and led an "active sexual life" in Auckland and Wellington, according to police.
