German singer guilty of infecting partner with AIDS virus

Nadja Benaissa, former singer for the German band No Angels, waits for the verdict in a courtroom in Darmstad.

By Boris Roessler, AP

German pop star Nadja Benaissa has been convicted of knowingly infecting a sex partner with HIV. The 28-year-old former singer for the female band No Angels was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to perform community service with HIV-positive people, according to German news reports.Benaissa admitted having the AIDS virus but did not tell three partners with whom she had sex without condoms between 2000 and 2004. She was 17 the first time.

She wept when the verdict was read in court in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, Der Spiegel writes.

"It will always be painful for me," she said yesterday in her final statement, noting how her former lover was suffering. "I wish I could turn back time and make it not have happened."

She denied intentionally trying to infect anyone, saying she believed there was little chance of passing the virus. She was concerned that publicizing her infection might harm her daughter and the band, CNN reports, citing the Bild newspaper.
(Posted by Michael Winter)

See more on HIV heterosexual transmission here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfnYciuXeB4

Watch House of Numbers to learn more on the subject.

Source: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/08/german-singer-guilty-of-infecting-partner-with-aids-virus/1