In 2007, a karate and tai chi teacher, Philippe Padier, was arrested in Dallas. He was accused of causing grievous bodily harm with the use of weapons. In total, he committed at least six crimes (later it turned out that nine). The pledge was set at 200 thousand dollars, but Philip spent the next two years in prison, since no one paid a pledge for him.

On May 27 , 2009, Mr Padier was tried in the county of Collin, Texas. The jury carefully listened to the prosecution, the defense, witnesses and the accused himself. According to the laws of the country, for such crimes, Philip could receive up to 99 years for each victim, plus a fine. As a result, Philip was sentenced to 45 years in prison. 

What did Philippe Padier do? What were the serious bodily injuries, to whom did he cause them and what weapons did he use? Was the punishment fair ?  

Philip intentionally infected nine women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this case, this crime was considered as causing grievous bodily harm, since in the USA there are no separate laws for such crimes. At the same time, “causing bodily harm” is interpreted as “deliberate posing of another person in a position where he may be substantially affected”. Since Padier, according to the testimony of his doctor, had known about his illness since 2005 and was instructed on the need for protection in case of sexual activity, his actions just fell into this definition. Thus, the weapon in this situation was sex. 

In some states, partners are required by law to notify each other of sexually transmitted diseases. There is no such law in Texas. Philip met ladies in bars, invited them home, offered them to make love. Some of the injured women asked Philip directly, and received a direct answer: “I am healthy.” Moreover, he was offended: “How did it occur to you to ask?” Of the nine women, two are currently ill with AIDS, the rest are carriers of the virus.

Similar crimes were already considered in the USA, but the main difference between the Padier process was the use of the results of phylogenetic blood analysis and DNA analysis, which made it possible to determine exactly whose blood was the source of infection. She turned Padier’s blood.

Lawyers built the defense on the basis that Philip is a modern Casanova, loves women and sex, and that all the ladies had sex with him “by consent”. However, according to the prosecution, at the time of “consent”, the women did not have all the information to make a decision. The prosecution called Padier a “predator” with “deadly weapons.” 

In the end, the floor was left to Philip himself. He stated that all his women had an erratic sex life, had several partners, and one of them infected him. In addition, he accused the ladies of uniting against him and thereby formed a “hate group”, so the jury judged him with bias, and the like. He tried to introduce himself as a victim.

The defense requested Padier to be sentenced to 20 years in prison, citing the fact that after 20 years he would not pose a threat. The accusation required a life sentence. The jury decided that 45 years would be a fairer sentence for him. Now Philip is 53 years old. Given his diagnosis, this period can be considered lifelong. 

The opinion of the public was very divided. Although almost everyone agrees with the punishment that Philippe Padier received, many believe that his ladies should share responsibility for what happened. According to one of those who sent the comments, “in the end, they did not meet him at church and did not receive the virus as a result of donating blood to the Red Cross.” Others regard women as full-fledged victims: “Two are needed to dance tango. One to pull the trigger . ” 

In any case, one thing is clear – no one can be considered absolutely guaranteed to be protected from infection if he does not take appropriate measures. The only protection against any infection is the use of a condom, and even better is the use of a condom and even a medical certificate. In case you decide to have sex, the ideal option would be to go to the doctor together and check up, after which together and get acquainted with the results of the tests. It sounds very unromantic, but are you ready to risk your life out of fear of seeming unromantic? Keep in mind that your partner may not be aware of his illness, because HIV can be acquired not only through sexual contact …     

But what about Philippe Padier? He went to jail to serve his sentence. Rumor has it that Hollywood is about to make a movie based on this story. After all, there is “Silence of the Lambs” and “Texas Killer,” filmed based on real crimes …