Texan gets 45 years for spreading HIV through sex

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McKINNEY, Texas (AP) - A jury sentenced a suburban Dallas man to 45 years in prison Friday for knowingly infecting six women with the AIDS virus.

Philippe Padieu, described by his own lawyer as a "modern-day Casanova," shook his head and looked down when the decision was read. Jurors sentenced him to 45 years on five counts and 25 years on the sixth, to be served concurrently. Padieu had faced up to 99 years.

The Collin County jury convicted 53-year-old Padieu (pah-DOO') on Wednesday on six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Since HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, prosecutors contended Padieu's bodily fluids were a deadly weapon.

Padieu is a former martial arts instructor who continued to have unprotected sex after he tested positive for HIV in 2005.

Assistant District Attorney Lisa King in Collin County told jurors earlier Friday that Padieu deserved a life sentence.

But defense attorney Bennie House said Padieu may have made mistakes as a "modern-day Casanova," but did not intentionally spread the virus. He said a 20-year sentence would be fair.

Jurors heard testimony was Thursday in the punishment phase, including from women who described the harm that the HIV diagnosis had done them.

Padieu himself also took the stand, saying he was a victim of overzealous prosecutors. He said the women who accused him had all had multiple partners.