(SEAN MOTT / iNFOnews.ca)

CONTENT ADVISORY

Just days after being given jail time for committing a series of violent attacks on a former partner, a North Okanagan man was back in court again guilty of assaulting a different girlfriend.

James Robert Peacock, born 1987, was sentenced to six months of house arrest, Feb. 7, for assaulting a former girlfriend during their short relationship. The sentence comes just two days after Peacock was sentenced to nine months of jail time for attacking another former girlfriend.

Peacock’s earlier Feb. 5 court appearance had taken a worrying turn with the revelation he was HIV positive, something that had not been mentioned throughout the court proceedings.

The 32-year-old's former partner in the Feb. 7 case did not know at the time of their relationship he was HIV positive, however, she was not infected with HIV.

It’s unclear whether Peacock’s former partner from his first trial knew he was HIV positive, and the revelation could lead to further charges against him. The Canadian Criminal Code does not require a person to disclose they are HIV positive to a partner if there is no “reasonable possibility” of transmission.

Peacock was due to stand trial at the Vernon courthouse Feb. 7 facing charges of assault, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and unlawful confinement. Instead of facing trial he pleaded guilty to the assault charge and the Crown stayed the other two charges. He was sentenced to six months of house arrest, followed by 18 months probation. Peacock is currently in custody with roughly two weeks remaining of his earlier sentence.

During Peacock’s Feb. 5 sentence hearing, the court had heard how he had subjected a former partner to a barrage of violent abuse. On one occasion dragging his partner by the legs when she tried to leave, on another occasion he’d burnt her with a cigarette. One incident had left her with serious bruises.

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