Two men jailed for assault in Dutch HIV blood case
A court in Holland has found two men guilty of assault after a trial in which witnesses testified they were drugged, sexually assaulted and injected with HIV positive blood.
Peter Mulder, 49, also found guilty of rape, was sentenced to nine years. Hans Jurgens, 39, was sentenced to five years.
Wim Dekker, 49, Mulder’s partner, was accused of initiating online contact with the men and allowing the assaults to take place in his home. He escaped a conviction.
Mulder, a nurse, was accused of administering GHB and ecstasy to the victims and injecting them with Jurgens’ blood.
14 men, all HIV positive, came forward as victims of the gang, who would invite men to “sex parties” via the internet and then drug and inject them.
However, as the victims had willingly attended orgies and had sex without condoms, it cannot be proved they contracted HIV from the injections.
The three-judge panel at Groningen District Court said
“By committing these acts, (Peter M.) has shown himself to have a serious lack of respect for the rights of others.
“While he knew from his own experience what far-reaching consequences are tied to an infection with HIV, he repeatedly attempted to bring this same hurt to others.”
Prosecutors are to appeal for harsher sentences.
