| Question |
Answer |
Which charges and/or criminal convictions trigger a sex offender being tested for HIV/AIDS? |
- Any person, including a juvenile, convicted of an offense involving a “sexual act” may be subject to testing for AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
- “Sexual act” means a criminal offense:
- where the underlying conduct of the offender constitutes conduct between persons consisting of contact between the penis and the vulva, the penis and the anus, the mouth and the penis, the mouth and the vulva, or any intrusion, however slight, by any part of a person’s body or any object into the genital or anal opening of another; and
- that creates a risk of transmission of the etiologic agent for AIDS to the victim as determined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Is testing required, and/or available upon victim request? |
- Testing is available upon the victim’s request following conviction or adjudication, in which case the State’s Attorney shall petition the court on behalf of the victim for an order for AIDS testing.
- If the court determines that the offender was convicted or adjudicated of a crime involving a sexual act with the victim, the court shall order the test to be administered by the Department of Health in accordance with applicable law.
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When does testing occur? |
- Upon victim’s request following conviction or adjudication of a crime involving a sexual act with the victim, the court shall order the test to be administered by the Department of Health.
- If appropriate under the circumstances, the court may include in its order a requirement for follow-up testing of the offender. An order for follow-up testing shall be terminated if the offender’s conviction is overturned.
- After arraignment, a defendant who is charged with an offense involving a sexual act may offer to be tested for the presence of the etiologic agent for AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases.
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What is the testing process? |
- The victim may seek an order from the criminal or family division of the superior court in which the offender was convicted or adjudicated of the offense.
- The State’s attorney shall petition the court on behalf of the victim for an order.
- If the court determines that the offender was convicted or adjudicated of a crime involving a sexual act with the victim, the court shall order the test to be administered by the Department of Health in accordance with applicable law. When appropriate, the court may also include an order for follow-up testing.
- All costs of testing the offender shall, if not otherwise funded, be paid for by the Department of Public Safety.
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Who can see test results? |
- The results of the offender’s test shall be disclosed only to the offender and the victim.
- The record of court proceedings and test results shall be sealed.
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Are there related services for victims? |
- Upon request of the victim at any time after the commission of a crime involving a sexual act, the state shall provide to the victim:
- counseling regarding HIV;
- anonymous testing for HIV and other STDs;
- counseling by a medically-trained professional on the accuracy of the testing, the risk of transmitting HIV and other STDs to the victim as a result of the crime; and
- prophylaxis treatment, crisis counseling, and support services.
- A victim who so requests shall receive monthly follow-up HIV testing for 6 months after the initial test.
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Anything else I should know? |
- A defendant’s offer to be tested after arraignment shall not be used as evidence at the defendant’s trial. If the defendant is subsequently convicted of an offense involving a sexual act, the court may consider the offender’s offer for testing as a mitigating factor.
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Statutory citation(s): |
- Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, Chapter 72, §§ 3251, 3256
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