- Text
German Pop Singer Nadja Benaissa Convicted of Infecting Ex with HIV
Nadja Benaissa of band No Angels in a Frankfurt court August 16, 2010. (APN Photo Boris Roessler/Pool)
DARMSTADT, Germany (CBS/AP) German pop singer Nadja Benaissa broke down in tears Thursday as a court found her guilty of causing bodily harm to her ex-boyfriend by having unprotected sex with him despite knowing she was infected with HIV.
She was not sentenced to jail time.
Benaissa, a member of girl band No Angels, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence and 300 hours community service after she was convicted in a Darmstadt administrative court. She faced a possible ten years behind bars.
The court ruled that the 28-year-old had infected a former boyfriend with the virus that causes AIDS by having unprotected sex with him.
Benaissa helped her case during the trial, which began Aug. 16, by acknowledging she had unprotected sex despite knowing she was HIV-positive and saying it was a big mistake.
"I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart," Benaissa said, adding that she had realized how much her ex-boyfriend was still suffering.
"I wish I could turn back time and make everything undone," she told the court. "But I know that he will never forgive me."
Prosecutor Peter Liesenfeld said he thought the sentence was appropriate.
"We have to remember that she was a lot younger than she is now, she had a turbulent life, and the acts were committed a long time ago," he told Associated Press Television News. "I think a suspended sentence is justified."
Benaissa left the courtroom without making any comment but her attorney Oliver Wallasch noted that she had said during the trial that she thought she deserved to be punished for her actions.
- Josh Powell had "incestuous" images on computer
- 3 dead, 2 critically injured after Fla. standoff
- Fla. teen kills grandmother, stabbed over 90 times
- Cops: Man killed couple for "unfriending" daughter
- Yeardley Love's roommates testify at murder trial
- Teen shoots self in N.H. school cafeteria
- Mo. teen called killing 9-yr.-old 'enjoyable'
- 12-Year-Old Girl Locked in Closet For a Year Because She Wanted to Eat, Say Texas Police
- Witnesses: George Huguely had drinking problem
- Jail time possible in Romney "glitter bomb" case
- Pennies raise the ante in road rage incident
- Ex-Rose parade director accused in Calif. murder
- George Huguely breaks down during murder trial
- "Thrill killing" Mo. teen gets life in prison
- Officer describes beaten, bruised Yeardley Love
- Dog the Bounty Hunter's daughter arrested
- Jason Young's second trial begins in wife's death
- How Jason Wu picks models, tweaks looks for runway
- Libertine Fashion Week show big on embellishment
- Libertine Fashion Week show big on embellishment
- Huge art work honoring Havel on display in Prague
on Facebook
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Adele sings a cappella for Anderson Cooper
- Beyonce and Jay-Z post first photos of Blue Ivy Carter
on CBS News










