ST. CHARLES, Mo. - A man may have knowingly exposed at least five men and women to HIV, and the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department is looking for more victims in the second such case to hit this community in the past four months.
Prosecutors charged Michael Brian Bergman, 43, with recklessly risking another person with HIV infection. Bergman in the St. Charles County jail under $250,000 bail.If the woman, who is in her early 30's, tests positive for HIV, Bergman's charges could be increased to include a penalty of life in prison.
His current charge carries a penalty of five to 15 years in prison.
Deputies say Bergman told the woman, "I didn't tell you because I figured you already had it. I don't want to lose you; I love you, and I figured we could be sick together."
Bergman and the woman met on the Internet and had a sexual relationship from December 2007 to until this February 2008. During the relationship, Bergman has unprotected sex with a man in January and allegedly told authorities that he cannot control his compulsive sexual behavior.
In October, Angela Harris, 28, was sentenced by a St. Charles County jury to 10 years in prison on two counts of recklessly risking another person with HIV. The man, an ex-boyfriend, tested negative for HIV.
St. Charles is 25 miles northwest of St. Louis.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
