‘Ladies Man’ with HIV Convicted of Assault for Bedding Middle-Aged Women
A Texas martial arts instructor described as a “ladies man” by defense lawyers has been convicted of six counts of aggravated assault for having unprotected sex with women without warning that he was HIV positive.
Philippe Padieu of Frisco, 53, faces a sentence of five to 99 years in prison for each count when he is sentenced on Friday, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Prosecutors said yesterday that at least one of Padieu’s sex partners has full-blown AIDS and five others are infected with HIV, according to the Morning News report.
In closing arguments, Assistant District Attorney Curtis Howard said Padieu gave the impression that he was a “catch” for middle-aged women, the story says. “He’s a predator,” Howard said, “and his personality is his camouflage. …You’ve got a guy who’s got all his hair. He doesn’t have a big belly. He’s in shape. He drives a nice car, a Corvette. He’s French. He treats women well.”
In reality, Howard said, Padieu is “a ticking time bomb, he’s a lethal weapon.”
Defense lawyer Bennie House countered that Padieu is in denial, operating in the North Texas dating scene where “there is a certain amount of desperation in an older crowd.” Padieu “is not a predator,” House said, “He likes sex.”
House argued that Padieu’s partners should have practiced safe sex, the story recounts. “They should have invoked a mantra—no glove, no love,” House said.
