A man is being charged with knowingly infecting another man with HIV in San Diego, The Denver Channel reported on Tuesday.
Thomas Guerra, 29, a landscape architect known to frequent the city, is also known as Ashton Chavez. He is being charged with a misdemeanor by the City Attorney's Office for willfully exposing another person to the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV. The attorney's office may be looking into dozens of other victims.
An accuser of Guerra's, whose identity has not been released, said he is not only upset that he is now HIV positive, but also because someone he loved and trusted willingly did this to him, according to 10News. The accuser says he learned about Guerra's offenses from a Facebook message sent to him from Guerra's ex-boyfriend. Guerra and the accuser were in a long-term relationship and he was hours away from proposing to him.
"I don't even know who I was living with. I don't know who I had fallen in love with. There are many people who are being hurt and could potentially still be hurt. It needs to stop," he told 10News.
He added: "I want him to get help. I don't want people being hurt. It's the only reason why I am speaking out."
Guerra allegedly joked in text messages about having HIV and other people not knowing it, NBC San Diego reported.
Guerra is due in court on Thursday. If convicted, he may face a maximum penalty of six months in jail, along with a $1,000 fine. But Guerra's accuser provided police with additional text messages that he hopes could lead prosecutors to upgrade the case to a felony, punishable by up to eight years in prison, according to CBS 8.
The city attorney's office has said there is an ongoing investigation as to whether there will be additional charges.
