Posted: March 26, 2003

Gay Man with HIV Jailed for Sex 'Assault'

A gay 31-year-old Ohio man convicted of felonious assault for having sex with a woman and not telling her that he is HIV-positive received a four-year prison sentence.

At a sentencing on Friday, Summit County Common Pleas Judge Patricia Cosgrove told Mor Rondo Roberts, a supervisor in the Summit County Department of Job and Family Services, "Your conduct brought you here." Roberts, who is HIV-positive, was arrested after being accused of having sex with two women and not revealing his HIV status.

Charges involving one of the women were dismissed, but the Akron man was tried for felonious assault against Deidre Lisman, 27, whom he dated over the course of several months. Although Lisman still tests HIV-negative, she told the judge in a letter she fears she will get sick and not be able to care for her two children.

Roberts has said he is gay and had never had sex with any women, but when he finally spoke in court on Friday, he apologized to both women and their families, and told the judge he needs professional counseling to deal with his HIV status, since his coping strategy up until this point had been drinking.

Right after he was convicted Roberts' lawyer reportedly said it was "hard for the jury to believe a black man who's gay and has HIV." The statement angered Cosgrove, who said the statement denigrated the two women involved.

The second-degree felony has a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. Roberts has no criminal record and had letters of support from friends and co-workers. Roberts' defense attorney, Tom Adgate, pressed the judge to give his client an alternative sentence so that he could avoid jail time. Although the judge said she took all of Roberts' good deeds into account, she had to address Lisman's needs as a victim.

Part of Cosgrove's sentence also required Roberts and his family and friends to stay away from Lisman. Two weeks before the sentencing, Lisman was accosted by two of Roberts' supporters outside Cosgrove's courtroom. The incident only ended after court deputies broke up the altercation.