A dozen charges have been dropped against an Abbotsford man who was accused of having unprotected sex with multiple partners across the Lower Mainland and not disclosing his HIV-positive status.
Brian Carlisle, 48, had been facing 12 counts of aggravated sexual assault, but they were stayed April 26 in Abbotsford provincial court.
Police initially reported in August 2017 that Carlisle was , but Mission RCMP reported the following month that after several more complainants came forward.
The alleged offences occurred in Abbotsford (three counts), Surrey (three), Maple Ridge (three), Mission (one), Deroche (one), and Burnaby/Coquitlam (one).
Dan McLaughlin, spokesman with the BC Prosecution Service, said the charges were stayed because 鈥渢he charge approval standard could no longer be met鈥� and there was not a strong likelihood of conviction.
鈥淚n this case, the prosecutor concluded that the evidentiary test was no longer met and directed the stay of proceedings,鈥� he said.
McLaughlin said the decision was also reached through consideration of a Prosecution Service policy titled 鈥淪exual Transmission, or Realistic Possibility of Transmission, of HIV.鈥�
鈥淚f there is no realistic possibility of transmission of HIV, failure to disclose that one has HIV will not constitute fraud vitiating consent to sexual relations,鈥� the policy states.
It also states that a 鈥渞ealistic possibility鈥� of the transmission of HIV is negated if 鈥渢he accused鈥檚 viral load at the time of sexual relations was low.鈥�
Carlisle has indicated in previous media interviews that his viral load was undetectable and he was not contagious at the time he was having unprotected sex.
鈥淰iral load鈥� is the term used to describe the amount of HIV in the blood.
鈥淪tudies show that people with an undetectable viral load do not pass HIV to their sexual partners,鈥� states the (Canadian Aids Treatment Information Exchange) website.
Carlisle is a prominent marijuana activist and would-be politician in the Fraser Valley, including a bid for mayor of Chilliwack in 2002.
He told community news reporters as long ago as October 2002, in relation to his marijuana use, that he had seven debilitating conditions, including being HIV-positive, something that was mentioned in multiple subsequent stories.
In a March 2005 article, it was reported that Carlisle used a vaporizer to inhale marijuana to ease nausea symptoms to treat his HIV/AIDS.
鈥� with files from Paul Henderson
