An HIV-positive US air force officer who engaged in spouse-swapping swingers parties has been found guilty of a slew of charges by a military court.
Sergeant David Gutierrez sobbed as he apologized to his family, victims and the Air Force and begged for mercy in his sentence.
"I brought this on myself," Gutierrez told Lieutenant Colonel William Muldoon, presiding judge at his court martial.
"All one has to do is Google my name and my life is before them. That, I know, is my fault."
Gutierrez, 43, was convicted of seven counts of aggravated assault, seven counts of adultery, plus one count each of committing an indecent act and disobeying a superior officer's order to tell sex partners about his condition.
Military prosecutors asked that he receive no less than 18 years in jail and lose his medical benefits, which Gutierrez said would mean a death sentence for him.
Gutierrez "repeatedly played Russian Roulette with the lives of the people of this community," Prosecutor Captain Sam Kidd said.
Prosecutors said Gutierrez may have been in contact with as many as 500 people seeking casual sexual partners through swingers parties posted on adult websites.
None of the eight women who testified against Gutierrez contracted the HIV virus during their encounters.
While charges have been brought against civilians accused of exposing people to the HIV virus, a public affairs officer at McConnell Air Force Base where the court martial is taking place said he was unaware of similar proceedings against military personnel.
Though Gutierrez was charged with adultery, witnesses said his wife was a willing participant in spouse-swapping parties.
A North Carolina woman testified Tuesday that she and her husband met Gutierrez and his wife through an "adult friend finder" website while they were in Kansas building a restaurant.
The couples agreed to a "meet and greet" at a bar on the outskirts of Wichita, she said, adding that the couple then invited Gutierrez and his wife to their hotel room for sex with each others' spouses.
"It was a full swap," she said.
Gutierrez wore a condom during sex, she pointed out.
The evening ended "on nice terms," she said, adding that Gutierrez and his wife "were nice people" but that they never met again.
Another witness testified she accompanied Gutierrez to two swingers events on the same day in November 2009, one at a barbecue and another at a "toga party" held in a hotel room.
She saw Gutierrez have sex with a woman at both events, and also saw him appear to receive oral sex from a man, although she thought the two men were only joking around.
Military investigators discovered Gutierrez's alleged activities through interviews with his wife, who said he had contracted the virus while stationed in Italy.
