Knowingly Exposing Others to Communicable Diseases

Suppose that A, who has HIV and knows it, has unprotected sex with B, who doesn't have HIV. A doesn't warn B. Has A committed a crime? Yes. At a minimum, A has failed to abide by communicable disease control measures. Under G.S. 130A-144(f), "[a]ll persons" are required to comply with control measures. The control measures for the most common serious communicable diseases are listed in 10A NCAC 41A.0201 et seq. (The Administrative Code is available online here.) The control measures for HIV, which appear in 10A NCAC 41A.0202, require infected individuals both to warn their sexual partners of their status and to use condoms during sex. Failure to comply with control measures is a misdemeanor, sentenced outside of structured sentencing. G.S. 130A-25(a)-(b). Note that sexual contact other than "intercourse" isn't mentioned in the Code, nor is some non-sexual behavior that might involve some risk of transmission. But has A has committed a more serious offense? Apparently, "[21] states currently have statutes [specifically] criminalizing behavior that risks the transmission of HIV or AIDS." James B. McArthur, Note, As the Tide Turns: The Changing HIV/AIDS Epidemic and the Criminalization of HIV Exposure, 94 Cornell L. Rev. 707 (2009). However, there is no such statute in North Carolina. Leslie E. Wolf & Richard Vezina, Crime and Punishment: Is There a Role for Criminal Law in HIV Prevention Policy?, 25 Whittier L. Rev. 821 (2004). But perhaps A could be charged under the general criminal law. My colleague Bob Farb discussed this idea in [...]