A Southern California man charged with knowingly infecting another man with HIV has been ordered by a judge to stay off gay hookup sites, specifically Grindr.
NBC’s Channel 7 in San Diego reports that Thomas Guerra, 29, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor health and safety violation. Guerra, who lives in Imperial Beach, was accused of infecting an ex-boyfriend with HIV after saying that he was HIV negative.
The ex-boyfriend said that Guerra told him that he was unaware that he was infected. But the ex-boyfriend said that he found text messages, videos and emails that proved Guerra had known he had HIV since 2007.
The judge declined a request from prosecutors to increase Guerra’s bail from $2,500 to $50,000. The judge said he had not been presented any evidence that there were others infected by Guerra. If found guilty, Guerra faces a fine of as much as $1,000 fine and six months in jail. A jury trial is set for Nov. 13.
Grindr, which is headquartered in West Hollywood, offers a mobile telephone app which gay men can use to connect with one another, usually for sex.
