HEALTH: Air Force Sentences HIV 'Swinger' to 8 Years!

A US Air Force sergeant who exposed partners to HIV at swingers' parties has been sentenced to 8 years in a military prison. David Gutierrez was convicted on charges including aggravated assault and failure to obey orders to use a condom and inform partners of his HIV-positive status, the BBC reports. None of the eight women who testified against the married sergeant contracted HIV from their encounters. Gutierrez will be dishonorably discharged after serving his time.

Gutierrez begged the judge not to discharge him, as it would mean the loss of his military medical benefits, AP reports. "The possibility of a future without assistance does scare me—scares me to the core," he said, sobbing. "The cost of medicine is very expensive and I don't know if I can afford it." The chief prosecutor accused the sergeant of playing Russian roulette with his partners' lives. "The accused was not thinking about how his victims would pay for their medications," he told the court.