A man from a rural southeast Missouri town is in a world of trouble after admitting to having exposed as many as 300 people to HIV.
The accusations against David Lee Mangum, 37, of Dexter came out after Mangum's former live-in partner tested positive for HIV in July at the Stoddard County Health Department.
The victim said he first met Mangum in October 2012 through a Craigslist men for men ad, according to the probable cause statement.
He told police he asked Mangum before intercourse if he had any diseases and Mangum told him no.
The victim told police he had sexual relations with Mangum between 15 to 20 times from October 2012 to June 2013 and never used protection.
The two lived together off and on from November 2012 to June 2013 when the victim told police he ended the relationship after learning Mangum cheated on him.
The victim said Mangum's former roommate contacted him after the break up to tell him Mangum told her he tested HIV positive in 2003.
According to court documents, the victim said he questioned Mangum and he admitted to testing positive to HIV in 2003 in Texas.
When police spoke with Mangum, he admitted to testing positive for HIV in 2003, according to the probable cause statement.
KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau obtained a copy of the probable cause statement
here. It reveals that Mangum had sex with between 50 and 60 people in Stoddard County alone. He never told any of them that he had HIV. The arresting officer, Corey Mills,
told CNN that it's going to be extremely difficult to get in touch with all of them, since Mangum only knew his partners' first names. CNN also learned that the victim who first reported the case has tested positive for HIV.
Stoddard County prosecutor Ross Oliver was alarmed enough by the news to issue an alert about a "serious public health concern." Anyone who had sex with an unknown man in the region whom he met on Craigslist should get tested immediately.
Mangum was arraigned earlier today on charges of recklessly infecting another person with HIV. He's in a world of trouble, to say the least. In Missouri, knowingly exposing someone to HIV without the other's consent can carry up to 15 years in prison, and infecting someone can send you to prison for life. I hope they throw the library at this guy. There's really no such thing as too heavy-handed a sentence for something this outrageous.