Suit accuses Edgerton man of spreading herpes
THE RELATIONSHIP
Late 1997 to mid 1998—Couple had a sexual relationship
Mid 2009 to mid 2011—Couple flirted and woman sent man a provocative picture
Jan. 19, 2011—Couple had sex in Janesville
May 3, 2011—Medical tests confirmed woman had herpes
May 20, 2011—Man told woman he had herpes for nearly 10 years
July 22, 2011—Woman filed lawsuit against man
ELKHORN — A 33-year-old Delavan woman wants $350,000 for her claim that she was infected with genital herpes by a 35-year-old Edgerton man during a sexual tryst in Janesville, according to Walworth County court records.
The woman contends in her lawsuit that the man was legally liable for knowingly exposing an uninfected and unknowing partner to the sexually transmitted disease.
The sexual encounter happened after the couple had spent the day together in Madison, according to the lawsuit.
The woman was married when she had sex with the man, and he was married, too, according to the lawsuit. Neither could be reached for comment.
The Gazette is not naming the man and woman because of the sensitive nature of the allegations.
The Delavan woman, who filed the lawsuit without a lawyer, wants to be awarded money from the man’s auto and homeowners insurance. The lawsuit contains her medical records as proof she has genital herpes.
“The (man) and I had mutual contact through phone, instant messaging, Facebook, email and in person from summer of 2009 to June 2011,” the woman wrote in the lawsuit. “This contact included sharing confidences, flirting, touching, asking and eventually receiving provocative pictures of myself and multiple meetings.”
According to the lawsuit:
The two spent the day together in Madison in January 2010. When they returned to Janesville, the man initiated physical contact by holding hands, which advanced to kissing in is pickup truck and escalated to sexual activity.
The man knew the risk of transmitting the disease, making him responsible for personal injury, intentional infection, emotional distress and assault and battery, the woman alleges in the lawsuit.
Symptoms of herpes include muscle ache, fever, fatigue, intense itching, redness and sores in genital regions.
In May 2011, she asked Janesville police to arrest the man.
The man has denied giving the woman herpes. He has told her to check with her other partners. The woman said her only partners were the man and her husband of nearly eight years.
During a February 2011 telephone conversation, the man told the woman’s husband that he does not take medications to treat his herpes, according to the lawsuit. Medications could potentially have lowered the risk of transmitting the disease.
The woman contends she has experienced panic attacks while driving with her spouse and children. Her spouse is reluctant to have normal sexual relations because of her diagnosis, she wrote.
