John Conner III Memphis dance teacher sentenced for exposing teen boy he had sex with to HIV – which he kept a secret from his victim.
A reality TV dance teacher in Tennessee has been sentenced to nine months jail for raping a 16-year-old boy and exposing him to HIV, which the teen later tested positive for. At the time of the trysts, the dance teacher was fully aware he was infected, but had chosen not to disclose his condition, prosecutors said.
John Conner III — who appeared on the Lifetime show “Bring It” — did not tell the teen that he was HIV-positive when they had sex several times after meeting on social media in 2015, prosecutors revealed.
Conner did not tell the teen he had been diagnosed with HIV in 2012, prosecutors said and proceeded to have ‘consensual’ sex with the boy without use of condoms, WREG reports.
Investigators say the teen later joined Conner’s Memphis dance team, the ‘Infamous Dancerettes’, and the relationship continued as the two exchanged text messages about their sexual activity and shared risque photos. But in August 2016, the teen told his parents about the relationship and said he should be tested after hearing about Conner’s diagnosis. The teen then tested positive for HIV.
The boy later tested positive for HIV after having sex with Conner.
Russian roulette in the sexual stakes:
Conner, pleaded guilty in November to charges of criminal exposure to HIV, statutory rape by an authority figure and solicitation of a minor.
He was sentenced Friday to nine months in prison and four years of probation. The man will also be on the Sex Offender Registry for life.
Of note, Conner also has two similar cases pending with sexual partners ages 17 and 24, prosecutors said.
Unclear is what preempted the infected man from telling his victims that he was HIV positive and whether he sought his partners’ demise?
The man’s sentence of only 9 months has also led to many wondering on social media why the man’s punishment was so light in comparison to the severity of the crimes.
