Countywide : Appeal Filed Over AIDS Assault Case
An attorney filed papers Friday with the state 2nd District Court of Appeal, arguing that David Scott Crother has been illegally charged with assault for allegedly infecting a Ventura County woman with the AIDS virus.
Crother, 46, of Santa Barbara, faces trial in Ventura County Superior Court on an indictment charging him with 15 counts of assault with a deadly weapon--one for each sexual liaison he allegedly had with the woman without wearing a condom or warning her he carried the AIDS virus.
Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch ruled last week that it is legal to try Crother for assault. However, Storch said he would postpone Crother’s arraignment, scheduled for April 22, if the appeals court grants a stay of the trial pending its review of the case.
On Friday, defense attorney Robert Sanger appealed Storch’s decision, arguing that prosecutors are seeking to stretch California law to fit the case, in violation of Crother’s constitutional rights. There is no legal precedent in California for such a charge, he argued.
Crother is the first person in the state to face assault charges for allegedly spreading AIDS through sex.
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