Posted on 03/22/2007 2:14:13 PM PDT by BlackVeil
A PSYCHIATRIST who called Michael Neal the "most evil man" he had met in 20 years urged authorities to lock him up two years ago but was ignored.
Neal, a grandfather, formerly of Coburg, is accused of attempting to infect at least 16 men with HIV between 2000 and 2006 while he was subject to Department of Human Services orders not to engage in unprotected sex or attend gay beats.
The revelation came as a court heard yesterday that Neal claimed to have organised a "conversion party" in 2005 at which up to 15 men "gang-banged" a teenager to infect him with HIV.
The court also heard there was a "bug chaser" movement in Melbourne's gay community who wanted to contract the disease and "breed" it.
Police allege two men contracted HIV from Neal, who is facing 121 charges, including intentionally causing a very serious disease, attempting to cause a very serious disease, rape, and possessing and producing child pornography. He has denied the charges. Two Department of Human Services workers told his committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday that Neal's psychiatrist, Dr Fintan Harte, told them in 2004 that the only way to guarantee the public's health was to "lock this man up for life".
Despite more than eight complaints about his sexual behaviour over five years, Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Dr Robert Hall, told the court on Tuesday he referred Neal's case to police only last year after he was told the father of five had child pornography — a matter he considered criminal.
Department of Human Services worker Elizabeth Hatch told the court yesterday that Dr Harte expressed concern about Neal having unprotected sex with other people in July 2004 and believed therapy would have little effect, if any.
"He stated that Michael Neal enjoys infecting people with HIV and that he cannot see Mr Neal maintaining safe sex with others," Ms Hatch, a registered nurse who worked on Neal's case, said in a statement tendered to the court. "Dr Harte also said the only way to guarantee the public's health would be to lock this man up for life."
She said Dr Harte's claim was put to an "HIV advisory case panel" and resulted in Neal being placed on an order to practise safe sex, not to attend sex-on-site premises, not to share injecting equipment and to continue counselling and contact with the department.
It was the first of four orders placed on Neal between 2004 and 2006 before police were notified of his case and arrested him in February last year.
Ms Hatch said Neal asked the department to pay for Viagra in 2003 because he found it difficult to get an erection with a condom on.
She also received a report that Neal had said "welcome to my club" after having unprotected sex with a man who did not know Neal was HIV-positive.
An HIV-positive man who said Neal tried to infect him with the virus in 2000 also told the court there was a movement of "bug chasing" and "gift giving" in the gay community — terms used to describe the deliberate transmission of HIV.
The student said Neal looked triumphant when he asked him how it felt to "take a big pos load" when they had unprotected sex in 2000.
"There was absolutely nothing arousing or erotic about what he said. It was more a statement of violence," the student said.
Another man who alleges Neal planned a "conversion party" to infect him with HIV told the court that Neal claimed to have injected a 15-year-old boy with crystal meth, also known as "ice", before he was "gang-banged" by up to 15 men at his Coburg home in 2005.
Neal told him the boy wanted to contract HIV and that his brother would want to go through the same process.
Dr Harte will give evidence at the hearing, which continues on Monday.
Lock him up?
No.
Bury him.
There is no death penalty in Australia, at least, no legal capital punishment. There is a death penalty for anyone who strays into the hands of this guy.
Where is Vlad when you need him?
If this man is guilty of what he is accused of, then he is a rabid dog and should be put down as such, along with anyone who may have collaborated with him in this "conversion party."
Sick bastards.
You are right. There are crimes which society cannot tolerate. We lost sight of that in the course of the 20th century, and diseases like AIDS are the result.
"Dr. Harte also said the only way to gurantee the public's health would be to lock this man up for life."
Yes, in an air tight chamber dug six feet below dirt.
"HIV advisory case panel..."
The panel should be injected with HIV.
Accident. Murder by fellow inmates. Whatever. This guy needs his plug pulled.
Conversion alright.......from the living to the dead.
These Aussies need to take out the trash.
Then lock him up with the people that turned him loose despite all the warnings that he would intentionally infect and slowly murder others.
I believe I have heard of similar things happening in this country. And it's usually ILLEGAL for health authorities to reveal that somebody has AIDS.
Every once in a while, someone is punished for an egregious offense like this, but I'm afraid it's probably not uncommon in the bathhouse community.
I've also read that HIV men often donate blood in this country. The guilty are protected while the innocent are placed at risk.
Doing what queers do....
Just when you thought you have heard everything..... words fail me.
Capital punishment is the only sensible choice in this case. Locking this pervert in prison would be like locking a kid in a candy store or an alcoholic in a liquor shop. As long as he lives he's a menace.
The only other solution would be a radical penectomy and castration.
Out of curiosity, I just googled "bug chaser" and came up with a whole lot of stuff. I hadn't heard this term, but I'd heard of the behavior.
Here's one site, where the author suggests it's a form of "post-traumatic stress syndrome":
http://www.alternativesmagazine.com/15/hill.html
Makes me want to hurl.....
Ok, that is as far as I got. But now I feel compelled to google Jalal al-Din Rumi..... just because of the name.
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