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Lady Judge Lets Man Off Almost Scot-Free
A Canadian Forces soldier who had sex with three women without telling them he had herpes was spared a criminal record.
Ontario Superior Court Justice Julianne Parfett found Mathew Wilson’s had been punished enough from the stigmatization and notoriety he suffered as a result of publicity around the case. She ruled it wasn’t contrary to the public interest to grant him a conditional discharge and place him on three years of probation.
Parfett found there was a risk Wilson would lose his job with top secret security clearance in electronic warfare with the Canadian Forces if he received a criminal record. She was also satisfied the public now knows that having sex with someone without telling them you have herpes is a crime.
Two of the three women Wilson slept with contracted the sexually transmitted infection.
Wilson, 36, pleaded guilty to criminal negligence causing bodily harm after giving the two women he met on online dating websites between 2005 and 2009 the incurable condition which can cause blisters around the genitals. He was originally charged with aggravated sexual assault, but those charges were dropped.
All three women Wilson had sex with said they wouldn’t have slept with him if they knew he had the disease. However, the two women who contracted herpes kept having sex with Wilson even after they learned he had herpes.
Parfett said she considered Wilson’s crime-free past and service to his country in granting him the discharge.
“Mr. Wilson has been a productive member of society all his adult life,” she said. “He served his country in Afghanistan and has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) as a result.”
Wilson, who spent six days in jail following his arrest, apologized to all three women in court.
“This has been a true learning lesson,” said Wilson. “I can assure you I’ll never be before the court again for as long as I live.”
Prosecutor Marie Dufort argued Wilson had deprived the women of the right to protect their sexual integrity when he had sex with them without disclosing his affliction. But Wilson’s lawyer, Peter Beach, argued his client was the victim of a “mean spirited” investigation by investigators who didn’t have a proper understanding of herpes.
Wilson, who was diagnosed with herpes in September 2004, knew that he could transmit the virus to people he had sex with. There are more chances of transmission during an outbreak of the disease, but the infection can be transmitted even while there is no outbreak, court heard.
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