Man guilty of HIV murders blames problems on undescended testicle

A man believed to be the first in Canada convicted of murder through HIV transmission blames an undescended testicle for his current situation, court heard Tuesday.

The Crown is seeking a dangerous offender designation for Johnson Aziga, 54, who was convicted in April 2009 of two counts of first-degree murder, 10 counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of attempted aggravated sexual assault. A dangerous offender can be jailed indefinitely.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Philip Klassen, called by the Crown at the dangerous offender hearing, said Aziga ascribed his actions to a number of issues, but placed “a great deal of weight” on having an genital defect.

“I asked Mr. Aziga why he thought he found himself where he was and he reported that his difficulties have root in the fact that he was born with one undescended testicle,” Klassen testified. “He said that because of this abnormality he hid sexual information about himself all his life.”

Even his ex-wife and longtime girlfriend did not know about his undescended testicle, Klassen said.

Aziga’s convictions relate to 11 women with whom he had unprotected sex and did not tell them he had the virus that causes AIDS. Seven of the women became infected, with two dying of AIDS-related cancers.

During nine hours of interviews with Aziga, Klassen said “on occasion” the offender made mention of remorse, but he “invested a good deal more energy into defending his position and attributing his difficulties to external factors than taking responsibility for what happened or expressing concern for the victims.”

Klassen reported that at one point Aziga told him he has had between 25 and 30 sexual partners in his life, and at a different time in the interview he said the number was between 50 and 100.

Aziga, who had been aware of his HIV-positive status since 1996, was issued a public health order in 2002 to use condoms and disclose his HIV status to sex partners. He said he didn’t because he was afraid he’s be rejected — feelings similar to those he had in regards to the undescended testicle, Klassen said.

His failure to disclose wasn’t about wanting to harm the women, nor was it about vindictiveness or anger at having HIV, Klassen said. Aziga did say if he had been angry or vindictive he “could have harmed many more women,” Klassen said.

Poor counselling was also a factor, according to Aziga, a Ugandan immigrant. He said if he had been counselled properly he would have been able to disclose his status to his sexual partners, Klassen said, adding he thought Aziga was referring to cultural factors.

In general, Klassen described Aziga as “defiant and self-righteous” with some narcissistic qualities.

“There was a vigour there as though he was trying to free a country,” Klassen said.

Under the Criminal Code, a person convicted of a “serious personal injury offence,” and found at a sentencing hearing to pose an ongoing risk, can be imprisoned for an indeterminate period.

A dangerous offender can first apply for parole after seven years. After that, the person can apply again every two years. If the parole board never determines the offender is fit for release, he will stay in prison for the rest of his life.

Aziga, a former research analyst with Ontario’s Ministry of the Attorney General and a father of three, has been in custody since his arrest on Aug. 30, 2003.

Since 1978 there have been 522 people designated as dangerous offenders. As of April 25 there were 441 “active” designated offenders. According to the Correctional Service of Canada, 419 are incarcerated, 18 are being supervised in the community, one has been deported, one is on temporary detention, one is on bail and one has escaped.