Soldier Found Guilty In HIV Case

At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Pfc. Johnny Lamar Dalton, 25, has been sentenced to 40 months in military prison for having unprotected sex with an 18 year-old male he met online. Dalton had tested positive last year and was ordered by his superiors not to have unprotected sex. After the teenager tested positive, his mother notified the military. Dalton was convicted of violating a direct order, committing an "indecent act", and possessing marijuana. After his sentence is completed, Dalton will be dishonorably discharged.

When Dalton first tested positive, he was spared being deployed to Iraq, but was not challenged on his possible gayness. North Carolina law stipulates that HIV positive people may not have sex without a condom and not without first notifying their partner of their condition. Homosexual acts remain a violation of the military code of conduct. It remains unknown if the teenager's serostatus can be directly traced to Dalton.

When I first blogged about Dalton's arrest back in July, there seemed to be a consensus here that an 18 year-old should be responsible for his own sexual protection. It's interesting that Dalton was convicted for violating a direct order and committing an indecent act, rather than for the HIV aspect of his act. Perhaps military law superseded the NC law? Anybody know?