Last week, Mark Cardenas was convicted of raping a 19-year-old and today he was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for it. That’s longer than he might have gotten usual for a rape conviction, and it’s because his attorney Ernest Staine told the court that Cardenas has HIV. It was later revealed to the court that he knew he was infected at the time that he raped the teenager.
It was a stunning revelation and his victim, now 20 years old, who was in court apparently did not know. And neither did Judge Michelle Arana. Justice Arana made it clear that the fact that Cardenas knew his HIV status for some three years, means he knowingly exposed the victim and that means he committed another crime of knowingly infecting a person with the virus.
The victim also addressed the court, saying that she felt ashamed and unable to speak about the rape. Courtroom observers say she also seemed stunned at the revelation the man who raped her was HIV positive.
Cardenas will begin serving his 18 year sentence today.
