Article content continued

In handing down her sentence in the unprecedented case, Superior Court Justice Bonnie Warkentin said: “It is difficult to comprehend that a person would act in such a deliberate fashion as Mr. Boone did when engaging in sexual intercourse (with the 17-year-old boy who became infected).”

The victim, now in his 20s, will never be able to enjoy life to its fullest and his life expectancy will be reduced by more than 12 years, court heard.

“He will live in an environment where many countries still stigmatize and discriminate against those living with HIV. He will have difficulties with other relationships and he will live in the shadow of this infection in all aspects of life,” Warkentin said.

The victim was still in high school when he was infected.

“I hadn’t even turned 18 yet … I still had so much I wanted to do, so much I thought I could do. It felt like it was just taken away because I had a lapse in judgment, because I decided to trust somebody,” the young man told a jury at trial.

Boone was convicted back in October 2012 but sentencing was delayed for various reasons, notably because of a Crown application to designate him a long-term offender with the hope that he’d be intensely supervised after release from prison.

Warkentin ruled in favour of the Crown on Wednesday and ordered that Boone be closely supervised for five years after his release. Under the supervision conditions, Boone will be required to take his antiretroviral medication, get treatment for his personality disorders, and be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing.