Aug 26 2010 04:43 PM ET

German pop singer Nadja Benaissa found guilty of exposing unknowing sex partners to HIV, but avoids jail time

Nadja-BenaissaImage Credit: Boris Roessler/AFP/Getty ImagesNadja Benaissa, one-fourth of German pop girl-group No Angels, has managed to avoid serious jail time after a serious offense, Reuters reports. After being arrested last April, the 28-year-old singer confessed to knowingly exposing two men to the risk of HIV, knowing she’d had the virus since she was 17. Today, a court ruled that Benaissa was guilty grievous bodily harm. She was given a two-year suspended sentence, required to perform 300 hours of community service, and to submit to regular counseling sessions. (The judge gave her a more lenient sentence because she had confessed and expressed remorse.)

“I made a huge mistake,” Benaissa told the Darmstadt court in western Germany yesterday. She also noted that she didn’t tell anyone of her virus for fear of how it would affect her career as a pop star. “I was a coward,” she said. “I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I wish I could turn back the clock and make it all not happen.”

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Comments (2 total) Add your comment
  • ani

    oh yeah…i tried to kill 2 people as well..but i feel really bad, so a slap on the wrist is probably enough punishment, right?

  • u

    I will refrain from making a mean comment that still carries a point.

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