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Louisiana Revised Statutes & Codes

La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.5 (2026)

Intentional exposure to HIV

✓ current as of May 2026
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§43.5. Intentional exposure to HIV

           A. No person shall intentionally expose another to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) through sexual contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the victim, if at the time of the exposure the infected person knew he was HIV positive.

           B. No person shall intentionally expose another to HIV through any means or contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the victim, if at the time of the exposure the infected person knew he was HIV positive.

           C. No person shall intentionally expose a first responder to HIV through any means or contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the first responder when the offender knows at the time of the offense that he is HIV positive, and has reasonable grounds to believe the victim is a first responder acting in the performance of his duty.

           D. For purposes of this Section, "first responder" includes a commissioned police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, correctional officer, constable, wildlife enforcement agent, and probation and parole officer, any licensed emergency medical services practitioner as defined by R.S. 40:1131, and any firefighter regularly employed by a fire department of any municipality, parish, or fire protection district of the state or any volunteer firefighter of the state.

           E.(1) Whoever commits the crime of intentional exposure to HIV shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than ten years, or both.

           (2) Whoever commits the crime of intentional exposure to HIV against a first responder shall be fined not more than six thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor for not more than eleven years, or both.

           F.(1) It is an affirmative defense, if proven by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person exposed to HIV knew the infected person was infected with HIV, knew the action could result in infection with HIV, and gave consent to the action with that knowledge.

           (2) It is also an affirmative defense that the transfer of bodily fluid, tissue, or organs occurred after advice from a licensed physician that the accused was noninfectious, and the accused disclosed his HIV-positive status to the victim.

           (3) It is also an affirmative defense that the HIV-positive person disclosed his HIV-positive status to the victim, and took practical means to prevent transmission as advised by a physician or other healthcare provider or is a healthcare provider who was following professionally accepted infection control procedures.

           Acts 1987, No. 663, §1; Acts 1993, No. 411, §1; Acts 2018, No. 427, §1, eff. August 1, 2018.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1993–2023 · leading case: State v. Gamberella, 633 So. 2d 595 (La. Ct. App. 1993).
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State v. Gamberella, 633 So. 2d 595 (La. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 6× “R.S. 14:43.5. He pled not guilty and proceeded to trial on count one.”
Meany v. Meany, 639 So. 2d 229 (La. 1994). · cites it 2× “[4] In fact, La.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 14:43.5 (West Supp. 1994) makes it a felony, permitting a fine of not more than $5,000 and/or imprisonment with or without hard labor for not more than ten years, for a person intentionally to expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency…”
State Ex Rel. Olivieri v. State, 779 So. 2d 735 (La. 2001). “§ 14:43.5, intentional exposure to AIDS virus; Subpart B of Part IV: LA.”
State v. Bonds, 189 S.W.3d 249 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2005). “As noted by the State, the Louisiana Court of Appeals held that Louisiana’s HIV exposure statute, which required proof that a person “intentionally expose another” to the AIDS virus, did not require scientific evidence or expert testimony of actual victim contact with the virus.”
State v. Gonzalez, 796 N.E.2d 12 (Ohio Ct. App. 2003). “R.S. 14:43.5 outweighed defendant’s interest in maintaining the confidentiality of his test results.”
State v. Trosclair, 89 So. 3d 340 (La. 2012). “3 (oral sexual battery), R.S. 14:43.5 (intentional exposure to AIDS virus), or a second or subsequent conviction of R.”
State v. R.W.B., 105 So. 3d 54 (La. 2012). “3), intentional exposure to the AIDS virus |s(R.S. 14:43.5), stalking (R.S. 14:40.2), incest (R.”
Smith v. Cutter Biological, 770 So. 2d 392 (La. Ct. App. 2000). “Moreover, we note that during this period of time, the legislature enacted Act 663, § 1 of 1987 (LSA-R.S. 14:43.5), which act made it a felony offense to "intentionally expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus .”
State v. Roberts, 844 So. 2d 263 (La. Ct. App. 2003). · cites it 5× “No person shall intentionally expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus through sexual contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the victim. B. No person shall intentionally expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus…”
State v. Turner, 927 So. 2d 438 (La. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 2× “The defendant, Audra Turner, was charged by bill of information with two counts of intentional exposure to AIDS virus in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.5. She initially pled not guilty.”
State v. Turner, 103 So. 3d 1258 (La. Ct. App. 2012). · cites it 4× “11 The defendant was initially charged with four counts of intentional exposure to the AIDS virus, a violation of LaR.S. 14:43.5. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant eventually pled guilty to one count of intentional exposure to the AIDS virus.”
State v. Serrano, 715 So. 2d 602 (La. Ct. App. 1998). · cites it 5× “Defendant was charged with intentionally and knowingly exposing Deborah Harris to the AIDS virus, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.5. He filed a motion to quash the bill of information on the ground that the statute is unconstitutionally vague.”
Show all 14 citing cases →
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.5(A): 2 cases
State v. Gamberella, 633 So. 2d 595 (La. Ct. App. 1993). “R.S. 14:43.5. He pled not guilty and proceeded to trial on count one.”
State v. Roberts, 844 So. 2d 263 (La. Ct. App. 2003). “No person shall intentionally expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus through sexual contact without the knowing and lawful consent of the victim. B. No person shall intentionally expose another to any acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus…”
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.5(B): 1 case
State v. Gamberella, 633 So. 2d 595 (La. Ct. App. 1993). “R.S. 14:43.5. He pled not guilty and proceeded to trial on count one.”
La. Rev. Stat. § 14:43.5(E)(1): 2 cases
State v. Turner, 927 So. 2d 438 (La. Ct. App. 2005). “The defendant, Audra Turner, was charged by bill of information with two counts of intentional exposure to AIDS virus in violation of LSA-R.S. 14:43.5. She initially pled not guilty.”
State v. Turner, 103 So. 3d 1258 (La. Ct. App. 2012). “11 The defendant was initially charged with four counts of intentional exposure to the AIDS virus, a violation of LaR.S. 14:43.5. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the defendant eventually pled guilty to one count of intentional exposure to the AIDS virus.”
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