ABC News May 8, 2024

Man 'purposely' trying to spread HIV through sex with men and teenage boys sentenced to 30 years

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A 34-year-old Idaho man has been imprisoned for at least 30 years after "purposely" trying to spread HIV through sexual contact with both men and teenage boys, prosecutors say.

This investigation began in August 2023 as a child enticement case, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office in Idaho, when Alexander Louie initially began an online sexual conversation with who he believed was a 15-year-old boy but was actually an undercover Ada County Sheriff’s Detective.

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“Mr. Louie organized to meet up with the person he believed was the boy for sex, and was arrested,” prosecutors said following the announcement of Louie’s sentence. “As the investigation continued, law enforcement uncovered that Mr. Louie, who is HIV positive, was not taking his medication, and purposely having sexual contact with both men and teenage boys in hopes to transfer HIV to them. He lied to these victims about his HIV status. Through the defendant’s own admissions, he had sexual intercourse with 30-50 different men and boys, including a 16-year-old.”

On Friday, Ada County District Judge Derrick O’Neill sentenced Louie to a 30-year prison sentence, 16 of which must be served before being eligible for parole.

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“Your conduct would be the Webster’s definition of a predator,” said Judge O’Neill during the defendant’s sentencing Friday for a felony charge of transferring body fluids containing the HIV virus, among other felony charges.

“This defendant’s repeated and egregious offenses negatively impacted many people in our community,” added Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. “I want to thank the Ada County Sheriff’s Detective and my trial team. Their hard work on this case ensured Mr. Louie was brought to justice in order to protect our community from his predatory and dangerous conduct.”