Pro wrestler Andre Davis gets 32 years in prison in HIV assault case

(CBS/WKRC/AP) CINCINNATI - A judge has sentenced former professional wrestler Andre Davis to 32 years in prison for having sex with women and not telling them he was HIV positive.

CBS affiliate WKRC reports Davis' HIV positive condition was revealed when the mother of his two children found his testing paperwork. She passed it on to many of his other girlfriends.

Davis, 29, was sentenced in Hamilton County Common Pleas on 14 counts of felonious assault. Davis, who wrestled using stage names including Gangsta of Love and Sweet Sexy Sensation, was convicted in November.

Prosecutors say he had unprotected sex with more than a dozen women.

Davis told the judge Monday that he was a "sex addict" and that his addiction grew worse when he lost his dream of becoming a professional wrestler after getting the HIV test results.

Davis, who said he didn't disclose his HIV test results because he didn't want his family to know, said he never intended to hurt anyone.

"I am not a monster," he said.

Davis' attorney, Greg Cohen, argued that the state law regarding HIV and felonious assault is poorly written because it doesn't require proof that there has been harm or an attempt to commit harm.

Cohen said Monday that Davis was sorry for what he had done and that the women Davis slept with also had some responsibility for choosing to have unprotected sex.

The judge had prohibited attorneys from bringing up whether any of the women was infected with the virus, citing medical privacy laws.

World Wrestling Entertainment told Davis in July 2009 that it wouldn't hire him because he failed his physical and tested positive for HIV.

Cohen said during the trial that a company, not a doctor, told Davis that he was HIV-positive and that he did not think prosecutors could prove that Davis has HIV. However, the state law requires those who test positive for HIV to inform their sex partners of that status and it was not necessary to prove that Davis is HIV-positive.