A Missouri man who claims to have had sexual relations with as many as 300 people since being diagnosed with HIV has pleaded not guilty to infecting another man with the virus.
David Mangum entered the plea after being charged with recklessly infecting another with HIV, which in Missouri — where sentences for such crimes are among the nation’s harshest — carries up to life in prison. His attorney didn’t return messages seeking comment.
According to Fox2Now.com, Mangum, 37, of Dexter, Mo. was arrested last week after a former lover tested positive for the virus and turned Mangum in to the police. The victim, identified in court documents as D.B., met Mangum on Craigslist in October 2012. D.B. says he questioned Mangum about having any diseases and he told him ‘no.’ The Associated Press reports that Mangum admitted to a roommate that he had been HIV-positive since 2003.
Court documents allege that the 36-year-old Mangum told detectives in Dexter, a small town in southeast Missouri, that he had unprotected sex with as many as 300 partners since being diagnosed with the virus that causes AIDS. Up to 60 of those contacts allegedly occurred after he moved to Missouri two years ago from Dallas, where he has convictions for prostitution, indecent exposure and public lewdness.
