A ZIMBABWEAN woman will stand trial in a Canadian court on September 13 after being charged with failing to inform a sex partner that she is HIV positive.
Nyaradzo Victoria Zvidzayi, 32, was arrested on Tuesday, August 10, and charged with aggravated assault. She was bailed under stringent conditions at the Toronto College Park courts last Friday.
As part of her release conditions, Zvidzayi, who arrived in Canada from Indianapolis, United States, as a refugee in 2008, was placed under house arrest until her next court appearance.
If found guilty, Zvidzayi, who lives in Brampton, Ontario Province, faces up to 18 years in jail under tough sex crimes Canadian laws.
She is accused of knowingly sleeping with at least one sex partner on more than one occasion and failing to inform him of her HIV status, which prosecutors say was known to her.
Her partner, who cannot be named, has since tested NEGATIVE for HIV and Tuberculosis, the court was told.
During the bail hearing, Zvidzayi told the judge she had no relatives in Canada.
“My church is my family,” she said.
A pastor from her Christ Embassy church stepped forward as a bail guarantor.