NC paratrooper pleads guilty in HIV case

FORT BRAGG (AP) — A paratrooper has pleaded guilty to assault for knowingly having unprotected sex with a 17-year-old he met in an online chat room.

Private First Class Johnny Lamar Dalton entered his plea during a court-martial at Fort Bragg. Dalton is a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.

Dalton was ordered last November not to have unprotected sex after he was diagnosed with HIV.

Doctors discovered the 17-year-old had HIV during a routine blood test, and his mother notified the military. Prosecutors say Dalton and the teen had sex before and after Dalton was diagnosed.

Dalton also pleaded guilty to violating a direct order, aggravated assault, committing an indecent act and using marijuana. A sentence hasn’t been imposed.

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