Idaho man who tried to spread HIV goes to prison

(Idaho Statesman) — A Boise man who was initially arrested on a slew of felony sex charges has been sentenced to multiple years in prison for sexually assaulting a teenager and attempting to “purposefully” transfer HIV.

Fourth District Judge Derrick O’Neill sentenced Alexander Louie to up to 30 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 16, according to a new release from the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. The 34-year-old was charged with 11 felonies in five separate cases in November after an Ada County Sheriff’s Office investigation led to his arrest.

“Your conduct would be the Webster’s definition of a predator.”

In a plea agreement with prosecutors, Louie pleaded guilty to three felonies — sexual battery of a minor, the enticement of a child through the internet and transferring body fluids containing HIV — and had six other felony charges against him dismissed, online court records showed. However, two more charges for allegedly transferring HIV are still pending, and Louie has hearings for both of the cases later this month, court records showed.

“Your conduct would be the Webster’s definition of a predator,” O’Neill said during Friday’s sentencing, according to the release.

In August, Louie began an “online sexual conversation” with an undercover Ada County Sheriff’s detective — who Louie believed was a 15-year-old boy — and set up a time to meet for sex, according to the prosecutor’s office. By September, he was arrested by the sheriff’s office.

During the investigation, law enforcement learned that Louie, who is HIV positive, wasn’t taking his medication and was having sexual contact with both men and teenage boys in hopes of infecting them with the virus that causes AIDS, the prosecutor’s office said.

Louie didn’t disclose his HIV status to the victims — which is illegal in Idaho — and admitted to having sexual intercourse with 30 to 50 people, including the sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy. The sheriff’s office said Louie met the teen through the Internet and sexually assaulted him three times in September, the Statesman previously reported.

“This defendant’s repeated and egregious offenses negatively impacted many people in our community,” Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts said in the release. “I want to thank the Ada County Sheriff’s detective and my trial team. Their hard work on this case ensured Mr. Louie was brought to justice in order to protect our community from his predatory and dangerous conduct.”