Photo by Carly Pearson
Robert William Richardson is lead into court Thursday afternoon at the Lyon County Courthouse. Richardson had a preliminary hearing on charges that he knowingly exposed two women to a life-threatening virus.
A man diagnosed as carrying HIV appeared in Lyon County District Court Thursday afternoon for a preliminary hearing on two separate counts of exposing two women to a life-threatening communicable disease.
Robert William Richardson of Lawrence was ordered bound over for trial. After hearing testimony from Richardson’s former physician and the two women, Judge Jeffry Larson found probable cause to believe that at the time of the alleged incidents, Richardson knew he was infected with HIV and did engage in sexual contact with both women without telling them of his condition.
Richardson’s attorney, Mark Sherman, had argued that prosecutor Amy Aranda had not established that Richardson exchanged body fluids with either victim. Both women testified that at separate times, each had consensual sex with Richardson in an Emporia motel. Exchange of body fluids is one way of passing the virus to another person. Both testified Thursday they had unprotected sexual intercourse with Richardson.
Larson said that one of the victims “testified there was also oral sex performed on her by Mr. Richardson. Clearly at this stage, I think it can be implied that body fluids were exchanged in both.”
Larson entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Richardson to both counts. Richardson’s next court appearance will be at 2 p.m. March 2.
Before the hearing, Sherman asked the court to close the hearing because testimony would involve airing Richardson’s medical records.
Larson denied the request.
“I think this is a public hearing,” Larson said. “... It’s important for the press to have a reasonable opportunity to report on what’s going on in the court system.” Larson added that the medical records “are indeed elements of the crime” that has been charged.
Richardson’s doctor, Christopher Penn of Lawrence, testified that he had treated the defendant for the HIV infection beginning June 17, 2003, and that Richardson apparently had first tested positive for the virus in 1998. Penn said that Richardson was aware of his condition. Penn said that he always talked with his HIV patients about the potential for exposing others to the virus, but that he did not have a record of talking specifically with Richardson about that.
“I’m sure we had that conversation but I cannot recall (when),” Penn said.
Each victim told the court that she was having a romantic relationship with Richardson, who worked at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in Topeka. Each said Richardson had been in Emporia as part of his job and had called the women to meet him at a local motel where he was staying.
One victim said that she met Richardson here on Oct. 11 or 12, 2005, and that they had engaged in unprotected sexual intercourse. She said that they began their relationship in August of that year and that she had talked with him specifically about sexually transmitted diseases.
“He told me he had a heart condition caused by a virus,” she said. He did not say he had the AIDS virus.
She testified she became aware of Richardson’s condition when she saw his picture and read an article about him in a newspaper in March.
“I contacted him ... and asked if it was true and he said it was,” she said.
The second victim testified that she had met Richardson in an Emporia motel on Oct. 17, 2005, and also had talked to him about STDs. She said she told him that she was tested annually for STDs.
“He indicated to me he was also free of sexually transmitted diseases,” she said. “He never indicated he was infected with HIV.”
She learned of his condition in January 2006 and talked to him about it.
“I asked him if it was true and he apologized for exposing me to the virus,” she said.
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