I don't understand why anyone would do this, but this sick bastard, Philippe Padieu, infected women with HIV, and he knew he had it.

This story is about the case.

At one point last year, Philippe Padieu was dating four women at the same time. That's not against the law.

 

But Frisco police say his actions in those relationships were illegal. They've charged him with four counts of aggravated assault, because, they say, he had unprotected sex with the women without telling them he had HIV.

 

Now the four ex-girlfriends have the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS, according to arrest warrant affidavits released Thursday.

 

Those affidavits detail when each of the women dated Mr. Padieu, when they tested positive and when they got in contact with police. One woman who had been involved with Mr. Padieu for more than four years described her relationship with him as monogamous. Two others described "extended" relationships. The affidavits use pseudonyms for the women to protect their identities.

 

All four women ended their relationships with Mr. Padieu last summer, and they tested positive for HIV in January. Two went to police in February, and they led investigators to the other two. Frisco police would not say if the women knew about one another.

 

Police said they are not sure if other women were infected, but they have asked anyone who has been sexually involved with Mr. Padieu to get tested and to call police.

 

"We don't know if there are other victims," said Frisco police Sgt. Gerald Meadors. "They may not know they are victims until they hear he's been arrested."

 

Mr. Padieu, 51, remained in the Collin County Jail on Thursday on $200,000 bail. He declined requests for an interview.

 

Dr. R. Doug Hardy, an infectious-disease specialist at UT Southwestern Medical Center, said it's impossible to determine how many people could be infected by an HIV-positive person who is having unprotected sex.

 

"First of all, it depends on the HIV. Is it controlled with medications? If they are on medication, the amount of virus in their blood is much lower," Dr. Hardy said.

 

"Then you need to know what kind of sex they are having, and whether they have another STD [sexually transmitted disease]. That can greatly increase the transmission of HIV," he said.

 

The highest risk is about 3 percent for each sexual encounter, Dr. Hardy said.

 

Criminal prosecutions of people with HIV who do not tell their sexual partners that they are infected are rare, according to Bebe Anderson, the HIV project director for Lambda Legal, an advocacy group for gays, lesbians and those infected with HIV.

 

It's hard to say if the number of these sorts of cases is growing, Ms. Anderson said.

 

But more than 30 states have enacted HIV-specific criminal laws against transmission or the risk of transmitting HIV, Ms. Anderson said. Texas is not among them, she said.

 

Such laws are unnecessary, she said, because states have laws already on the books that deal with those offenses, such as the aggravated assault charge being applied in the Padieu case.

 

Each of the four felony charges against him is punishable by five to 99 years in prison.

 

Earlier this year in Dallas, an HIV-positive man was sentenced to life in prison for attempting to entice sex from a 15-year-old boy. Willie Atkins had recorded sexual exploits with 131 young men, but Mr. Atkins was not on trial for having HIV or infecting anyone.

 

Richard Franklin, Mr. Atkins' attorney, said he could not comment on the Frisco case, but said the decision whether to use protection during sex ultimately is left up to the individual.

 

"You have this kind of feeling out there in society that it is kind of one person's fault that he doesn't tell all his business, and he becomes this big criminal because he may be spreading AIDS," Mr. Franklin said. "You ought to protect yourself."

 

University of Texas criminal law professor Mike Sharlot said cases in which consent is a defense are rare. He used baseball as an analogy.

 

"Let's say you are playing baseball, lose your temper, and hit the catcher over the head. He committed to playing baseball, not being hit like that," Mr. Sharlot said. "There are rare instances," he said, when a person is blameless "if you bat a ball and hit another player and hurt them."

 

Mr. Padieu was arrested July 20 in Addison at Ernie's Restaurant and Club. His occupation wasn't available Thursday. He has been a tae kwon do teacher at a Plano gym.

 

Mr. Padieu lives in a one-story brick home in Preston Manor, one of Frisco's older subdivisions.

 

At his house in the 8600 block of Cameron Road, the grass and weeds have grown tall. Neighbors said he used to be meticulous about his lawn and was often seen driving a black Corvette.

 

Catherine Royall, 20, who lives nearby, said she has kept her distance from Mr. Padieu for the past few years, ever since he accused her family of letting a dog run loose in his yard.

 

"A blond-haired woman always came," Ms. Royall said. "She's been going there for a while, but then, suddenly, she stopped."