BALDWIN, Mich. -- The first person charged under Michigan's AIDS disclosure law will be spared further jail time under a plea bargain with prosecutors.
Jeffrey Hanlon pleaded no contest in circuit court Tuesday.
When he is sentenced Thursday, he will be credited with the seven months he spent in jail awaiting trial and released, said Lake County Prosecutor Michael Riley.
Hanlon, 29, was accused of violating a seldom-used state law that requires HIV-infected people to inform their sex partners before engaging in sexual activities.
Riley said he decided to give Hanlon a break because the Baldwin man who filed the complaint against Hanlon was not infected with the virus. If he had been, Riley said he would have sought a prison term.
The case gained national prominence last year. Gay-rights activists rallied to Hanlon's defense, raising the $25,000 bond to get him out of jail in January after he had spent 213 days behind bars.
Hanlon was living in Pleasant Valley, N.Y., when he was extradited to Michigan. Violation of the disclosure law carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
