Missouri Man Faces Life In Prison After Exposing More Than 300 Partners To HIV

A Missouri man is under arrest after he admitted exposing approximately 300 sexual partners to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Police in the town of Dexter booked 36-year-old David Lee Mangum after his former partner learned had tested positive for HIV in July.

According to the partner, after meeting through a Craigslist ad, Mangum assured him that he was HIV negative when the two began dating. After the couple broke off their relationship in June, the man received a phone call from one of Mangum’s former roommates who told him that Mangum had tested positive for the virus in 2003, the Dexter Daily Statesman reported.

Under Missouri law, knowingly exposing another person to HIV is a felony. If the victim goes on to become infected with the virus, the accused faces a possible sentence of life in prison.

When police interviewed Mangum, they say he admitted to having sex with over 300 other men since learning he had tested positive for HIV, but did not inform any of them or ever use a condom.



"Mangum admitted he never disclosed he had HIV to any of his sexual partners in Stoddard County," the criminal affidavit states.

Asked why he did not tell his partners he was HIV positive, Mangum cited a “fear of rejection.”

Mangum told police that he usually only ever knew the first names of his partners, further complicating efforts to notify potential victims.

Judge Stephen Mitchell has set an all-cash bail of $250,000 in the case, and while awaiting trial, Mangum remains locked up at Stoddard County Jail.





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