Ontario Man with Messiah Complex Guilty of Spreading HIV

An HIV-positive man, who believed he was the Messiah and had “sweated out” his illness, was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault yesterday.

Ryan Handy, 25, had pleaded not guilty in court in London, Ontario for knowingly spreading the virus when he had unprotected sex with a 52-year-old man in February 2005.

Superior Court Justice William Jenkins said while he believed Handy suffered from a mental illness, the disorder “did not render him incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of his conduct or the fact his conduct was wrong.

“I am satisfied he knew when he had unprotected sex with (the man) that he was HIV-positive and that it was wrong to have unprotected sex with him,” Jenkins said.

At Handy’s trial earlier this year, the victim, whose identity is protected by court order, said he hadn’t tested positive for the disease since his exposure to Handy.

Handy and the man met in a gay chat room on the Internet.

Handy has a long, troubled history with depression and has been diagnosed bipolar.

His depression was exacerbated by use of illegal drugs. Originally from Chatham, he lived with a man in Toronto who exposed him to HIV.(keep reading)