By Sharon Coolidge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sean Stewart (left), bites his lip as he appears with his attorney Robert Hart Jr. (right) in court. (Enquirer photo)

Sean Stewart didn't shoot his victim. He didn't beat her, either.

But he might as well have, said Cincinnati police detectives and Hamilton County prosecutors, who took Stewart to court on criminal charges after prosecutors said he failed to tell a sex partner he was HIV-positive.

Stewart, 34, of Mount Auburn, pleaded no contest to felonious assault Wednesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Judge Dennis Helmick convictedStewart, saying he'll send him to prison at sentencing next month.

"This was life-threatening behavior," Cincinnati Police Detective Kenneth Brickler said. "He could have prevented it, but didn't."

Using the felonious assault charge against an HIV-positive person is rare in Hamilton County, but not unheard of, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen.

Lawmakers around the country, including Ohio, have passed laws intended to protect the public from AIDS, a national medical ethics professor said.

"Enacting legislation feels like you're doing something," said Leslie Wolf, of the University of California-San Francisco, who has surveyed laws across the country relating to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

"A lot of it is moral - the thought being, this is wrong and we need to do something to stop it," she saidAt least 24 states, including Ohio, have passed laws that criminalize the exposure or the transmission of HIV. Another 15 states, including Ohio, have increased penalties to existing laws, like rape and assault, when perpetrators commit that crime when they know they are HIV-positive.

"If you stop to think about it, it makes perfect sense," Allen said. "Felonious assault is knowingly or attempting to cause serious harm. It doesn't get more serious than HIV."

Stewart was charged with felonious assault in October2003. So far the woman has tested negative for HIV, Allen said.

Nationwide, there were 316 prosecutions of people who exposed others to the virus between 1986 and 2001, according to the Criminal Law and Policy Project.

Casual encounter

Stewart and the woman had known each other for several months when she discovered prescribed medication in his bathroom after a sexual encounter.Angry, the woman confronted Stewart. He admitted he had the disease, Allen said.

Then, she filed a police report.

Brickler said there may be more victims, but said there is no way to know for sure - the victims themselves likely don't even know.

After Wednesday's hearing, Stewart declined to comment, only saying: "It's over and done with now."

The judge could sentence Stewart to between two and eight years in prison.

Helmick told Stewart he faces prison time for the conviction:

"The reason why is that the victim and/or victims of yourself could have made a choice based upon you informing them that you are HIV positive and you never did," the judge said.

"People have the choice to accept risks or to avoid risks," he said, "but they should be given that choice themselves."

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com