Musician hid HIV from sex partners, court told

Musician hid HIV from sex partners, court told Times ColonistPublished: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

VICTORIA -- A 36-year-old man accused of four counts of aggravated sexual assault knew since the mid-1990s that he was HIV-positive, but didn't tell his sexual partners, a B.C. Supreme Court trial heard yesterday.

Prosecutor Nils Jensen outlined the case against Charles Mzite, who has lived in Victoria since he came to Canada from his native Zimbabwe on a visitor's visa in May 2001. Mzite has been in custody since his arrest in Vancouver in September 2007.

A founding member of the popular Jambanja marimba group, Mzite has pleaded not guilty to having unprotected sex with four women without informing them he is HIV-positive. The offences are alleged to have taken place between May 2001 and November 2005.

Email to a friendPrinter friendly Font:

• *
• *
• *
• *

One of the four women has tested positive for HIV antibodies, said Jensen.

Sentencing for people convicted of aggravated sexual assault have ranged from a couple of years in jail to a 15-year sentence for a B.C. man who infected three women