The
Following Article Is From the Web Site "Ocala.com" By
Fred Hiers
Staff Writer.
Ocala Star Banner
Last
Modified: Friday, January 22, 2010 at 5:53 p.m.
A
former U.S. Olympic equestrian rider and part-time Ocala resident, Darren Chiacchia,
was arrested Wednesday and charged with violating a state law that required him
to declare he was HIV positive to his one-time sexual partner.
The 45-year-old
Chiacchia is also a Florida Horse Park board member, a 2003 Pan American
gold medalist, and a prominent activist for the county's equestrian community.
He also has a farm in the area and teaches students to ride. The
charge is a third-degree felony degree; it could be upgraded to a first-degree
felony if Chiacchia is found to have committed multiple violations of the
crime. According
to a Marion County Sheriff's Office arrest report, the victim told investigators
that between February and June 2009 he and Chiacchia carried on a sexual relationship
and had unprotected intercourse several times. The
victim told deputies that, while he and Chiacchia were vacationing in New
York, the victim saw some of Chiacchia's medical documents. The
report redacts what those documents said, but the law Chiacchia is accused
of breaking -- Florida Statute 384.24(2) -- makes it unlawful for any person who
knowingly has "human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection" to have
sex with another person and not tell them prior to the act. The
victim told investigators that he asked Chiacchia at the beginning of their
relationship about his medical "status" and that Chiacchia told him
he was negative for any infection. The
State Attorney's Office issued a subpoena for Chiacchia's medical records
and obtained them. However, Circuit Judge Edward Scott ordered that the medical
records be used only as part of the Sheriff's Office investigation. Chiacchia's
bail was set at $2,000. He posted bond and was released from the Marion County
Jail on Thursday. According
to arrest documents, the victim showed investigators an e-mail he said was from
Chiacchia in which Chiacchia admitted to knowing he was infected
with the disease in 2008. The
victim then gave investigators a tape recording of a conversation he had with
Chiacchia in which Chiacchia said he didn't tell the victim of his
medical status "because he did not think the victim was trustworthy,"
according to the arrest report. In
the recording, Chiacchia also berates the victim and tells him that he
was naive if he thought he (the victim) had never had sex with anyone who wasn't
infected. Investigators
said in the arrest report that they also made several attempts to contact Chiacchia
and record the conversations between Chicchia and the victim, but failed. When
contacted by the Star-Banner, Chiacchia would not comment
about the arrest, saying he wanted to get permission from his lawyer first. He
said only that the arrest situation was "pretty surprising and outrageous." Longtime
equestrian colleague and fellow Florida Horse Park board member Chester Weber
said he was saddened to hear of the arrest. "It
certainly is personal in nature," he said. As
for Chiacchia's position on the Florida Horse Park board and whether he
should remain at his post, Weber said the issue of Chiacchia's arrest was
separate from that of Horse Park. "This
is a personal matter that he's going through unfortunately for he and the rest
of his family," Weber said. Fred
Hiers can be reached at fred.hiers@starbanner.com and 352-867-4157.
| 