Male Prostitute to Face Trial on AIDS Charge
A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles on Tuesday reinstated a felony charge against a prostitute who allegedly continued to solicit sex for money after he had tested positive for AIDS.
Judge Michael Tynan reversed an Oct. 24 ruling by Municipal Court Judge Rand Schrader, who had dismissed the charge against Dimitri Santangelo, 29, of Hollywood.
Schrader, who is also chairman of the Los Angeles County AIDS Commission, had concluded that Santangelo had not been properly informed when he was convicted of misdemeanor prostitution last May that, under a 1988 law, he faced a felony charge if rearrested for the same offense because he had tested positive for AIDS.
On Tuesday, Tynan agreed with Deputy Dist. Atty. Vivian Davidson that Schrader had insufficient grounds for dismissing the case. Tynan ruled that Schrader, at a hearing scheduled for Friday, must order Santangelo to stand trial on the felony charge.
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