Man With AIDS Virus Faces Felony Prostitution Count
A 28-year-old convicted male prostitute who tested positive for AIDS early this year was charged Wednesday with felony prostitution under a 3-year-old state law.
Gustavo Adalberto Garcia, 28, had been arrested Aug. 8 by Los Angeles police in Hollywood for suspected soliciting, authorities said. Deputy Dist. Atty. Norman J. Shapiro said Garcia had been arrested in the same area last winter, and had been convicted Jan. 22 on a misdemeanor prostitution charge. At that time, Shapiro said, was Garcia tested for the AIDS virus, and was found to be carrying it.
Prostitution is usually tried as a misdemeanor, but under a state law adopted by the Legislature in 1988 and amended in 1989, convicted prostitutes who are HIV-positive and who have been informed of their blood test results may be charged with a felony if they are arrested again for the same crime.
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