Carl Desmond Leone (born c.1976) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

businessman from

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area *Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wind ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Leone was jailed after pleading guilty in a Windsor court to 15 counts of aggravated

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

for not informing his sexual partners of his positive

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

status. It is believed he has been charged with exposing more women to the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-causing virus than anyone in Canadian history. Two of his victims have attempted suicide. In 1997, Leone was told by Windsor Essex County Health Unit workers that he was HIV-positive. Seven years later on June 6, 2004, he was arrested. On June 10, police issued a public safety advisory that resulted in more than 100 people seeking HIV tests for having been a partner of Leone or possibly being linked to him. Under

Canadian criminal law The criminal law of Canada is under the exclusive legislative jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada. The power to enact criminal law is derived from Criminal law under the Constitution Act, 1867, section 91(27) of the ''Constitution Act, 1867' ...

, people knowing they are HIV positive have a legal duty to disclose their HIV status before engaging in behaviors that put another person at significant risk of serious bodily harm. This is the result of the 1998 ruling by the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

in R. v. Cuerrier, which held that a partner cannot truly give informed consent if the other fails to disclose their HIV status. Complainants said they would not have been Leone's partner had he been truthful about his status. Six of the 22 complainants tested positive for HIV (three of them learned of their condition after his arrest) with the same rare strain that Leone was infected with. The strain is extremely rare in Canada, and the number of local cases represented an unusually high concentration for the country and constituted a public health issue for the

Public Health Agency of Canada The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC; french: Agence de la santé publique du Canada, ASPC) is an agency of the Government of Canada that is responsible for public health, emergency preparedness and response, and infectious and chronic diseas ...

. Dr. Paul Sandstrom, director of the National HIV & Retrovirology Laboratories, testified that "Windsor cluster" was unique in North America because it is a different HIV strain infection than the one that began spreading across North America in the early-1980s and is more commonly found in Southeast Asia. Initially, Leone was refused bail but turned to well-known criminal defence lawyer

Edward Greenspan Edward Leonard Greenspan, (February 28, 1944December 24, 2014) was one of Canada's most famous defence lawyers, and a prolific author of legal volumes. His fame was owed to numerous high-profile clients and to his national exposure on the Canadia ...

who successfully appealed the decision. Leone was released after posting bail of nearly $800,000. By the time of the trial, Leone was represented by Andrew Bradie. On April 27, 2007, prior to any of the complainants testifying, Leone agreed to plead guilty. The agreement spared the complainants the experience of testifying and also marked the first time he publicly acknowledged his HIV-positive status. On October 23, 2007, the Deputy Attorney General of Ontario approved the

Crown attorney Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada. Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and vario ...

's motion to pursue a

dangerous offender In Canada, England, and Wales, certain convicted persons may be designated as dangerous offenders and subject to a longer, or indefinite, term of imprisonment in order to protect the public. Other countries, including Denmark and parts of the U ...

designation for Leone. Under the

Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

, a person designated a dangerous offender may be indefinitely incarcerated so that they do not get released into society if there is a fear they may re-offend due to their violent tendencies. At the time of sentencing, the

Windsor Star The ''Windsor Star'' is a daily newspaper based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Postmedia Network, it is published Tuesdays through Saturdays. History The paper began as the weekly ''Windsor Record'' in 1888, changing its name to the ''Bo ...

interviewed detectives Pat Keane and Bill Stibbard, who investigated the case, and a pair of Leone's victims who were 17 and 18 at the time of Leone's offences. The detectives and women described how Leone lured the teenage girls (under the drinking age) through internet chatrooms and online messengers to night clubs, drugged them, took them to other locations, and engaged in unprotected sex with their unconscious bodies. The detectives said that at least four victims claimed that Leone had raped them while unconscious. The detectives also told of a 16-year-old girl and another woman, who was a virgin when she met Leone, whom he infected with HIV. In trial, Leone's parole officer claimed that Leone informed her that he had purchased date rape drugs from drug dealers. Leone was sentenced to 18 years in prison in April 2008, with eligibility for parole in six years. The judge said he was unable to designate him a dangerous offender because there was insufficient evidence that he would commit similar offences if released. He was twice refused

day parole Day parole is a form of release under Canadian law that permits prisoner participation in public activities during the day, and requires they return to their prison or halfway house nightly. The Parole Board of Canada may waive this requirement, or ...

in November of 2015 and September 2016, but was granted in April of 2017. Leone planned to move back to Windsor to live with his family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone, Carl 2007 in law Criminal transmission of HIV Living people 21st-century Canadian criminals Canadian male criminals People with HIV/AIDS HIV/AIDS in Canada 1970s births Businesspeople from Ontario Violence against women in Canada

See also

References