EDGARD, LA (WVUE) - A former St. John Parish sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to 10 years at hard labor for spreading HIV to two juveniles.
Barlon Cammon was handcuffed and taken away Monday afternoon after learning his fate.
A 20-year-old St. John Parish man walked out of the Edgard courthouse relieved that the man who gave him HIV was going to prison.
"This whole situation put my body in more pain and hurt than it should be in," said the victim, who was 16 at the time.
Cammon, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of transmitting the HIV virus and one count of felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile.
"To finally get him off the street, I was excited about it," said the victim.
Court documents show that Cammon had multiple encounters with a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old boy in locations from Laplace to Convent after meeting the boys on the website Jack'd. He was not a deputy for St. John when the encounters took place.
"For two years I ripped and run to the hospital until he made 18, and then we found out he was sick. And I asked him, 'How you sick like that? You have to be with someone older,'" said the victim's mother.
At that point, the victim told his mother everything.
"I feel like it was really disgusting. You were a grown man messing with minors," said the victim.
The victim said before their first encounter in 2013, he asked if Cammon was "clean" and was assured that he was. But all that changed in January 2015, according to court documents. That's when Cammon, who called himself "Rico," called the victim and told him he was carrying HIV.
"It's not like taking an antibiotic, and it goes away, that's something I have to take medicine every day of my life," said the victim.
The St. John D.A. said she's satisfied with the sentence.
"When you cross the line and break the law, then you have to accept the consequences, and that's what we have here with Mr. Cammon," said District Attorney Bridget Dinvault.
Dinvault hopes this case serves as a warning to other parents.
"It's always a big concern with juveniles. It is so important to monitor internet use," she said.
The victim said he's determined to move on, but it won't be easy.
"There are nights when I can't sleep, I hurt and I cry about the situation," said the victim.
He is prepared to testify again soon since Cammon also faces charges in St. James Parish.
In addition to getting 10 years in jail, Cammon will have to register as a sex offender upon his release. Because he is a former St. John deputy, he will not be held in a St John parish jail, since he could be mixing with people he may have previously arrested.
