When a 38-year-old Midtown resident met Gary Wayne Carriker in an Atlanta bar, he had recently ended a 12-year relationship and was, he admitted, a bit rusty in the dating scene.

Carriker, 26, of Fayetteville and a medical student at Emory, was attractive, charming and intelligent. He seemed to have everything going for him.

After a few dates, the man and Carriker engaged in unprotected oral sex. And after a few more dates, Carriker allegedly told the man he is HIV positive.

Now, the Midtown man has accused Carriker of breaking the state law that mandates people with HIV disclose their status before having sex with a partner.

Carriker faces three charges of felony reckless conduct for allegedly having unsafe consensual sex with three men — one in Fayette County and two in Fulton — and not telling them he is HIV positive, a violation of a 17-year-old state law.

The charge is rarely used in Fulton County, according to Erik Friedly, a spokesperson for the Fulton District Attorney’s Office.

In the past seven years with the office, Friedly said he knows of only one case in the county involving the charge. That matter involved a heterosexual couple. Friedly said he knows of no other gay-related cases.

In 2003, Daniel Wright, 44, was indicted on a charge of having unsafe sex with a woman without informing her he is HIV positive. He later faced a drug charge and in March 2004, pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and was sentenced to 10 years probation. Court records show Wright was in failing health at the time of his sentence.

Should the Carriker case move to trial, prosecutors would either seek Carriker’s medical records or request a blood sample to determine his HIV status, Friedly said. The allegations by the two Fulton men who came forward would be used to bolster the case against Carriker, he said.

Carriker remains free on bond while the cases are pending. He has not returned repeated calls or e-mails seeking comment. His attorney, H. Clay Collins of Fairburn, has also not responded to calls seeking comment.

In Fayette County, Carriker is charged with having consensual sexual intercourse with John Withrow, 25, of Peachtree City, between Dec. 12, 2003, and April 30, 2004, according to an arrest warrant. Withrow also filed a civil lawsuit against Carriker, alleging “extreme and severe emotional distress arising from the fear of developing HIV.”

In his April 2 response to the civil suit, Carriker denies the allegations and asks that the suit be dismissed.

A grand jury in Fayette County indicted Carriker in March. That case is scheduled to move forward June 6 during a motions hearing. Carriker is expected to be arraigned on Aug. 10, and the case may reach trial in September, according to District Attorney Scott Ballard.

The Midtown man who spoke with Southern Voice filed charges against Carriker on March 28. The Atlanta Police Department investigated the allegations and arrested Carriker on April 18. He was arrested again on April 25 after a second man alleged Carriker did not disclose his HIV status before sex.

An Atlanta police spokesperson did not respond to repeated inquiries from Southern Voice about the allegations against Carriker.

A Fulton County grand jury indicted Carriker on May 10 for “knowingly engaging in consensual oral sex without disclosing [he] was an HIV infected person” between Jan. 8 and Jan. 25, 2005, with the 38-year-old Midtown man.

Carriker was also indicted for “knowingly engaging in consensual oral and anal sex without disclosing [he] is an HIV infected person” between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2004, with the second man, who also lives in Midtown.

In Fulton County, Carriker’s case was assigned to Superior Court Judge John Goger, but hearing date is not yet scheduled. Felony reckless conduct by a person with HIV is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

‘I assumed he was safe’
The Midtown man who dated Carriker earlier this year and had unprotected oral sex with him said he should have asked Carriker about his HIV status before they became intimate.

“With him being an Emory medical student, I assumed he was safe,” the 38-year-old man said. “He was second in his class at Fayetteville High School. He was ready to enter his residency. I gave him too much credit. He appeared to be someone you think you can trust.”

“He was attractive and very romantic. He would sing to you. It was like he was ...

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