Woman arraigned for failing to disclose HIV status

Staff report

GIRARD

A woman was arraigned Tuesday in Girard Municipal Court after police said she failed to disclose her positive HIV status to a sexual partner.

Lisa Mutter, 41, will next appear Thursday in Girard for a preliminary hearing on a felonious-assault charge. A judge set her bond Tuesday at $75,000. She can be released if she posts 10 percent of that amount.

She faces similar charges in Columbiana County. Mutter could not be reached to comment.

According to a Hubbard police report, a Hubbard man told officers Jan. 4 he had unprotected sex with the woman on multiple occasions while they were living together in Hubbard from November 2015 to February 2016.

The man told police he became concerned after seeing news reports about Mutter facing charges in Columbiana County for failing to disclose her positive HIV status to a sexual partner in Lisbon. Hubbard police did not release their full report on Mutter on Tuesday. A records clerk said she was unable to access it. Hubbard police filed charges against Mutter on Jan. 12, according to Girard court records.

Under Ohio law, it is a felony if someone with knowledge they have HIV or AIDS does not inform their sexual partners of that information. HIV is an immunodeficiency virus that can lead to AIDS. The rate of HIV transmission via sexual contact is significantly lowered if the HIV-positive person takes medications and registers an undetectable viral load, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A Girard court record lists Mutter’s place of residence as Pulaski, Pa., in Lawrence County. A Columbiana Court record lists her place of residence as Salem.