This bit of news won’t help to dispel public opinion that gay men are shamelessly promiscuous.
Michael Johnson, a 22-year-old college student and former wrestler, has been charged with five felony counts of exposing partners to HIV. Johnson is accused of maliciously engaging in unprotected sex with multiple male sex partners despite his HIV status. Prosecutors had no problem building a case against Johnson, whose Instagram username is Tiger Mandingo. They found 32 videos of his sexcapades with gay or bi men on his laptop.
Police say Johnson’s sex partners were unaware he was HIV positive or that their encounters with him were being filmed.
According to The St. Louis Dispatch, Johnson, a former member of the Lindenwood wrestling team, was originally arrested and charged with infecting a partner in October 2013. In November, Johnson was charged with infecting four other men, which resulted in four additional felony charges filed against him.
“On that laptop were 32 videos engaged in sexual acts with Mr. Johnson,” said Tim Lohmar, a St. Charles County prosecutor, told KMOV, adding that the tapes showed Johnson having sex with 31 partners over four months in his dorm at Lindenwood.
Lohmar also said that it’s unlikely the partners knew about Johnson’s HIV positive status.
Johnson, known online as Tiger Mandingo, met his partners—most of whom, if not all, were men—through his six social media accounts (three Facebook pages, two Twitter feeds, a Vine and an Instagram), according to the River Front Times.
Johnson met most of his sex partners via hook ups on social media networks. If convicted, Johnson faces life in prison.
