Woman Sent To Prison For HIV Virus Transmission
25-Year-Old Claims More Than 200 Sex Partners Since Diagnosis
POSTED: Friday, December 19,
UPDATED: 11:32 pm EST December 21,
2003
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A HIV-positive woman accused of having unprotected sex with hundreds of men pleaded guilty Friday to criminal transmission of the virus that causes AIDS.
Melissa Jernigan, 25, also pleaded guilty to one count of battery on a law enforcement officer. Prosecutors say she spat on two corrections officers while she was at the Duval County Jail.Jernigan was arrested in March after two men came forward to say she had sex with them without disclosing she was HIV-positive. After her arrest, she told police she'd had unprotected sex with at least 200 men since she was diagnosed in 1999.While Jernigan was initially found incompetent to stand trial, two psychiatrists had recently found Jernigan mentally competent.After the guilty pleas, Judge Peter Dearing sentenced Jernigan to 23 months in prison on the sexual transmission charge, but she was credited with the 288 days she has already served. She was sentenced to 13 months in prison for battery on an officer, which will be served concurrently.Under Florida law, an HIV-positive person having sex with a partner without informing them about the diagnosis is committing a third-degree felony, punishable by five years in prison.Defense attorney Mark Miller said there was no evidence that any Jernigan's sex partners were infected with the virus.
Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Melissa Jernigan, 25, also pleaded guilty to one count of battery on a law enforcement officer. Prosecutors say she spat on two corrections officers while she was at the Duval County Jail.Jernigan was arrested in March after two men came forward to say she had sex with them without disclosing she was HIV-positive. After her arrest, she told police she'd had unprotected sex with at least 200 men since she was diagnosed in 1999.While Jernigan was initially found incompetent to stand trial, two psychiatrists had recently found Jernigan mentally competent.After the guilty pleas, Judge Peter Dearing sentenced Jernigan to 23 months in prison on the sexual transmission charge, but she was credited with the 288 days she has already served. She was sentenced to 13 months in prison for battery on an officer, which will be served concurrently.Under Florida law, an HIV-positive person having sex with a partner without informing them about the diagnosis is committing a third-degree felony, punishable by five years in prison.Defense attorney Mark Miller said there was no evidence that any Jernigan's sex partners were infected with the virus. Copyright 2003 by Local6.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Authorities release a chilling 911 call from a 19-year-old woman who hid in the back bedroom of a Central Florida home while four men attempted to break into the house.
An ex-wife of the man who found the remains of Caylee Anthony says that she thought her ex-husband was responsible for or involved in the girl's death.
Five people are confirmed dead after a mobile home fire broke out and the roof collapsed.
Officials question the credibility of a female deputy who called 911 in September to report a masked man had attacked her.
John Travolta and his family made their first public appearance in their adopted Florida hometown since his son's death, helping raise thousands of dollars for charity at a screening of the actor's new comedy Friday night.
Dashcam video shows a Florida woman offering an officer sex instead of getting a ticket.
South Carolina police say an obese man died after not moving from his recliner for the past eight months. Police say the man's body was physically stuck to the chair and firefighters had to cut him out. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
A woman tired of hearing her son say he lost another sock has come up with an idea to prevent it from happening again.
A Nebraska man says romance turned to revenge when he was victimized by his girlfriend and then exposed on Facebook. 
It really works! An Iowa man makes a Halloween costume that switches from robot to truck in seconds.
Thirty Victoria's Secret supermodels take over New York's Times Square this week.
Take a quick look at the flicks headed to your multiplex. Check out the trailer, too.
Get your daily dose of the cute and unusual right here.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
