AIDS activist indicted for rape, 9 other counts

10/16/2004

A 46-year-old Toledo man accused of having sex with boys on videotape was indicted by a Lucas County grand jury yesterday under an Ohio law that makes it a crime for people with HIV to have sex with someone without warning them they carry the disease.

Jerry "Speedy" Gonzales, an AIDS activist arrested on Tuesday after authorities discovered a videotape of him having sex with boys, was indicted on four counts of felonious assault. He was also charged with one count of rape, two counts of unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, and three counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a juvenile.

Mr. Gonzales is being held in the Lucas County jail without bond pending arraignment in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

The rape charge involves an 11-year-old boy, the youngest of four victims whom authorities were able to identify by watching some of about 50 videotapes taken from Mr. Gonzales' home at 313 Daniels Ave. in South Toledo.

Lori Olender, an assistant county prosecutor, said the unlawful sexual conduct charge stems from incidents in the videotapes with two boys, ages 15 and 16. Mr. Gonzales is charged with felonious assault for having sex with the boys, the younger child, and a 17-year-old.