Sex charges stayed against HIV-positive B.C. man

Charges have been stayed against a B.C. man who faced 12 counts of aggravated sexual assault for not informing his sexual partners that he was HIV-positive.

Crown counsel Jeremy Crowhursttold CBC that the charges against Brian Carlisle, 48, were dropped Thursday because Carlisle's own doctor andHIV expert Dr. Brian Conway, who was consulted by Crown,agreed that Carlisle's viral load was "undetectable" andhe could not transmit the virusthrough sexual contact.

However, the women involvedwill still need to undergo annual tests to make sure they have not been infected. Theycannotbe identified,

One woman who spoke to theCBCon condition of anonymity said she has to be tested every three months, and that will continue despite the news Carlisle viral load is very low.

"I still have to wait one more year to know if I have HIV or not," she said.

"If I want to engage with anybody in a relationship I have to advise them that I have been exposed to HIV. It's pretty difficult. I'm still not able to have any contact or relationship with anybody else."

The women were informed that charges might be stayed two weeks ago.

The woman who spoke to CBCnews said the message was left on her voicemail.

She says shehas paid a high personal price andis "devastated" that the case has officially been dropped.

"It's very bad. After July, I developed PTSD, depression and anxiety. I had to stop working, I lost my job, I lost everything that I worked for. Money, recently going into bankruptcy. It's pretty bad," she said.

CarlisleofAbbotsford, was originally charged with three counts in August 2017 and then nine more were added in September after several new alleged victims came forward during an extensive investigation by MissionRCMP.

At the time police said they decidedto disclose his medical condition because it was in the public interest.

Crowhursttold CBC there is still compellingpublic interest in the case,but the evidence no longer supports the charges so a conviction is unlikely.

The alleged offences occurred in Mission, Abbotsford, Coquitlamand Burnaby and investigators believe that Carlisle may have previously lived in Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Vermont.