A South Toledo man, once a volunteer HIV/AIDS educator, was sentenced to 20 years in prison yesterday for having sex with four boys ages 12 to 17 and failing to tell them he was HIV positive.
Before 46-year-old Jerry Gonzales was sentenced, the father of one 16-year-old boy trembled as he told the crowded Lucas County Common Pleas courtroom that his son must undergo testing for the next 10 years to determine whether Gonzales has infected the teenager with the virus that causes AIDS.
"You have made my son feel afraid and ashamed of who he is. He is a wonderful young man who did not deserve this - none of these victims did," said the father, whose name is being withheld because The Blade does not identify victims of sex crimes.
Gonzales, who had been an HIV/AIDS outreach volunteer for Planned Parenthood of Northwest Ohio Inc., was convicted Dec. 29 of rape involving a 12-year-old boy. The defendant began sexually abusing the boy when he was 11.
He also was convicted of unlawful sex with a minor and two counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving juveniles for incidents with two 16-year-old boys. In addition, he was convicted of felonious assault for having sex with a 17-year-old boy and not telling the victim about his HIV status.
Calling the defendant's actions "heinous," Judge William Skow sentenced Gonzales to 20 years in prison, a penalty that was negotiated by his attorney and prosecutors to spare the victims from testifying at trial.
"It is unbelievable conduct on your part. You, of all people, should have known better, given your occupation," Judge Skow said.
Merle Dech, Gonzales' attorney, said the punishment, in effect, was a life sentence because his client is now suffering from AIDS and was told by doctors that he could only expect to live a few more years.
"I doubt there will be a lot of weeping when that happens, and maybe that is the ultimate sentence in this case," Judge Skow said. "But this is just incredible, egregious, and, in effect, cruel conduct, not the least of which, of course, is subjecting these young boys to the possibility of AIDS themselves."
Gonzales apologized in court to the victims and their families and admitted that he had no excuses for the crimes.
"I put myself at the mercy of the court. It never should have happened in the first place," he said.
The incidents occurred at Gonzales' home on Daniels Avenue, where he was known by neighbors for his compassion and kindness.
He was arrested there in October after a search revealed he had some 50 videotapes of himself having sex with the youths.
Contact Mark Reiter at:
markreiter@theblade.com
or 419-213-2134.
First Published February 4, 2005, 1:55 p.m.
