Man sentenced to 2.5 years for infecting 14-year-old girlfriend with HIV in Gijón

Man sentenced to 2.5 years for infecting 14-year-old girlfriend with HIV in Gijón

The Third Section of the Provincial Court of Asturias has sentenced a 23-year-old man to two and a half years in prison for transmitting HIV to his partner, a 14-year-old minor whom he did not inform that he had the disease. The events date back to 2022, when the girl's mother filed a complaint in Gijón. According to the ruling, the accused had repeated sensual relations without a condom and without disclosing his serological status to the victim.

The legal gap: sensual abuse or intentional infection?

The conviction focuses on the transmission, but the underlying debate revolves around the victim's age. In Spain, the age of sensual consent has been set at 16 since 2015. At 14, the young woman could not legally consent, yet the act was not classified as sensual abuse. Various analyses suggest that the sentence could have included a charge of pedophilia, which would raise the minimum penalty to that of a crime against sensual freedom. The power asymmetry – 23 years versus 14 – aggravates the context, but the court chose to apply the article punishing the transmission of serious diseases, which carries a range of 3 months to 3 years. The sentence falls at the lower end.

Blurred responsibilities: parents, system, and denialism

Several viewpoints point to the responsibility of the minor's parents. How could a 14-year-old girl maintain a relationship with an adult drug addict without parental supervision? The ruling does not record any action taken against the parents, but the profile of the accused – vertically transmitted HIV, abandonment of antiretroviral treatment, cocaine and hierba use – suggests a risk environment that should have been detected. Simultaneously, a minority questions the very existence of HIV as the cause of AIDS, arguing that the convicted man went 23 years without medication and did not develop the disease, which they believe dismantles the official narrative. This skepticism, although marginal, fuels controversy in certain circles.

The confusing data point: the accused was born with HIV, transmitted by his mother, and never trinc treatment. At age 23, his viral load would be undetectable without drugs – something that contradicts the dominant narrative about the lethality of the bicho. The case remains open: the law was applied due to the infection, but the true failure, for many, lies in not protecting a child from an environment of abuse and negligence.