A 24-year-old man is charged in Douglas County with reckless conduct for allegedly not telling his years-long partner that he had AIDS, even after she became pregnant with their son.
Douglas County District Attorney David McDade said the woman only learned Donte Martel Rhone was ill when she discovered his medications as they were packing to move. She researched the drugs to learn their purpose, McDade said.
“She confronted him and he said he had an immune system problem and not to worry about it. They continued the relationship,’ McDade said Thursday.
McDade said the woman and her 5-month-old son eventually were tested. She is HIV positive, but the child tested negative.
Rhone was arrested Monday and he was still in the Douglas County Jail on Friday.
McDade said Rhone was born with the virus -- both his parents had HIV – and he now has full-blown AIDS.
Rhone gave investigators the names of other women with whom he has had sexual relations before and during his three-year relationship with his son’s mother, McDade said. Those women were also unaware of his condition and at least one of them has tested positive for HIV.
Those women do not live in Douglas County so McDade did not know if charges were pending against Rhone in those cases. He said the office was still contacting the women Rhone named and the investigation was continuing.
“It’s one of those horrible cases,” McDade said. “ [Rhone] was born with it. Where do you begin to sort it out? But you can’t go on to have unprotected sex. It’s going to be a horrible, difficult situation to determine what justice would be.... Now he’s passing it on to another generation and we have to intervene."
If convicted, Rhone could be sentenced to five to 20 years in prison.
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