A Comstock Park, Michigan man is facing a second charge of intentionally infecting a sex partner with HIV. David Smith, 51, appeared in 61st District Court in Grand Rapids on Wednesday afternoon. He was arraigned on a count of having sex with an uninformed partner while knowing he was HIV-positive.
Court records show the Smith had sex with a woman in 2009 in a home in the 2200 block of Prospect Ave. NE in Grand Rapids.
Grand Rapids Police say Smith came to headquarters last week and told detectives he had unprotected sex with many partners and also shared needles to inject drugs. They say he did it knowing he is infected with HIV.
Smith told Judge Jeanine LeVille Wednesday he had been going to meetings and counseling at a local mental healthy agency to “rectify” his issue.
Judge LeVille acknowledged that there may be mental health issues involved in the case, but that Smith posed “a danger to the public safety” and the judge raised his bail to $100,000.
According to police, tests prove Smith is HIV positive and at least one sex partner is also infected.
HIV prevention counselor Stephen Alsum of the Grand Rapids Red Project says the man’s motives are a mystery.
“I can’t imagine what’s going through his head,” Alsum says. “What’s really strange about this is, it’s not generally the way HIV is transmitted. Generally HIV is transmitted by somebody who doesn’t know they are infected. This is an extreme, extreme case.”
Smith is charged with one count of failing to disclose his HIV status before sex.
The Kent County Health Department is trying to track down other potential victims and is encouraging anyone who may have been exposed by this individual to immediately have their HIV status tested.
It’s complicated because Smith says he met many of his partners on websites and doesn’t know most of their names.
