Prince Albert Provincial Court. (file photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

HIV positive man receives five-year prison sentence for sexual assault

Nov 7, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Editor’s note: A correction was made to this article on Nov. 9 to correct Standing was not found guilty of sexual assault and aggravated assault, but rather choking during sexual assault, and assault with a weapon.

CONTENT WARNING: The following story contains descriptions of sexual assault.

A man with HIV, who forced his victim to have sexual intercourse on two separate occasions, has received a five-year prison sentence.

Billy Lee Standing, 44, appeared Monday afternoon at Prince Albert Provincial Court. The witness portion of the trial was completed in June, and guilty verdicts for choking during sexual assault, and assault with a weapon were read into record last September.

The case itself dates back to July 23, 2020. According to evidence heard during the trial, Standing twice forced the woman to have sexual intercourse.

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He then struck the complainant with a metal bar after she managed to escape the bathroom, entered the common area of the apartment and confronted Standing in front of everyone, that he had “raped her”.

All this was done at a time when Standing knew he was HIV positive.

When the woman testified, she broke down in tears, and said Standing’s actions destroyed her life.

“Mr Standing your actions in this case were horrific, they were despicable and they were cowardly,” Judge Thomas Healey said. “What you did [to the victim] was cruel, selfish and reprehensible.”

Reading from a pre-sentence report (PSR), Healey said Standing had been living on the streets at the time of the offence, and was assessed as a high risk to re-offend in the 96th percentile.

“In other words of the offender population, only four per cent of that population is more likely to re-offend,” he said.

Healey said Standing displayed a lack of empathy for his offences and whose history of lying had fractured his own relationship with his father.

“It is very clear to this court you are a violent person and dangerous person,” Healey said, calmly encouraging Standing to seek help for his addictions and behaviour issues.

Throughout Monday’s sentencing, Standing interrupted the judge on several occasions, made claims he was going to appeal, and addressed his own lawyer with obscenities.

“You are sending me to jail for something I didn’t do,” Standing shouted, asking the court to explain why his victim did not test positive for the virus.

Also contained with the PSR was Standing’s belief he did not require any treatment.

“How do I appeal?” Standing asked angrily after receiving his sentence.

Standing received 456 days credit for time already spent in custody. In addition to the prison sentence, he will be on the sex offender registry for a period of 20 years and prohibited from owning or possessing any firearms or explosives for a period of 10 years.

—

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell