A transgender sex worker who was previously jailed for infecting a client with HIV is now battling to keep from being permanently deported to New Zealand. CJ Palmer was convicted in 2018 by the Western Australia District Court on a single count of grievous bodily harm in relation to having sex with a client, according to the New York Post.
Consequently, the man was infected with the dangerous virus despite Palmer knowing they were HIV positive. At the time, Palmer was sentenced to six years in jail, but it was trimmed down to four years after a successful appeal.
Palmer had reportedly been residing in Australia since 2006, but Palmer's visa had been made eligible for cancellation after being charged with a crime. As a result, Palmer was booted from Australia and sent to New Zealand after the decision was made to cancel the visa, per the report.
Palmer’s counsel Bora Kaplan apparently argued that Palmer was experiencing trouble coming to terms with their diagnosis, and that they were, at the time of the transfer of infection, taking medication that was supposed to mitigate the potential of spreading the deadly virus.
Kaplan said: “The evidence before the (immigration) minister was quite clear in my respectful submission, and it was th(at) Ms. Palmer had consistently taken her medication since 2016.”
“Importantly, even during those times that she had relapsed into illicit drug use, and there was nothing to suggest that there was a risk that she would stop taking that medication going forward.
“The evidence established that HIV cannot be transmitted from A to B, if A has an undetectable viral load, as Palmer did.”
The New York Post reported that Kaplan did concede that Palmer’s initial response to the diagnosis was one of denial.
“That is that prior to commencing treatment, Ms. Palmer was in denial about her diagnosis, took drugs, and was reckless in her approach to her own sexual health and that of her sexual partners.”
