Singer who knowingly spread HIV avoids jail time

DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) - In an emotional statement she told the court she was "sorry from the bottom of my heart."...

Aug 26, 2010

DARMSTADT, Germany (AP) — A German court has found a girl-band singer guilty of causing bodily harm to an ex-boyfriend by having unprotected sex with him despite knowing she was infected with HIV but she won’t spend any time in prison.

News agency ddp reported the Darmstadt administrative court on Thursday handed 28-year-old Nadja Benaissa a two-year suspended sentence after finding the No Angels bandmember guilty.

Benaissa helped her case during the nearly two-week trial by acknowledging she had unprotected sex despite knowing she was HIV-positive and saying it was a big mistake.

In an emotional statement she told the court she was “sorry from the bottom of my heart.”

The man who claimed Benaissa infected him said they had a three-month relationship at the beginning of 2004.