April 27 update: Crown prosecutors have dropped 12 charges of aggravated sexual assault against Brian Carlisle.
Charges against a Fraser Valley man that was the subject of a major police warning when he was accused of failing to disclose his HIV status to a dozen sexual partners appear to be on shaky ground.
CTV News has learned that multiple women connected to the case have been told legal rules have shifted with advances in HIV treatment, and that Brian Carlisle’s 12 counts of aggravated sexual assault could be doomed.
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“A person that is adequately treated for his HIV infection does not transmit the virus,” said Dr. Julio Montaner of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV and AIDS.
It’s responsible to disclose your HIV status in most situations, Montaner said. But if someone is being treated and there is no realistic chance of transmission, it shouldn’t be up to the criminal system to punish people who don’t disclose, he said.
“I welcome disclosure and many things that could inform his willingness or her willingness or their willingness to engage in a sexual act. But if there is no risk this is not a mandatory disclosure,” he said.