Spoor Pleads Guilty To Malicious Mischief, HIV Scandal
WARSAW — Travis Spoor, 37, Silver Lake, entered a guilty plea today, Thursday, June 8, to three counts of malicious mischief, level 6 felonies, in three different causes. Per the plea agreement entered, three additional charges of malicious mischief will be dropped if the plea agreement is accepted. A court date of July 3 has been entered for plea acceptance.
If the plea agreement is accepted, Spoor will serve all three sentences consecutively. A level 6 felony is punishable by 6 months to 2 1/2 years in jail.
Spoor was first arrested in February 2016 after a victim told police that Spoor had failed to tell her about his HIV status. She stated she had met Spoor through mutual friends on Facebook. On Nov. 4, 2015, the two began dating. Prior to their sexual relationship, Spoor denied having any type of disease. The couple engaged in an unprotected sexual relationship for about a month. The relationship ended in December.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the victim informed police when she was with Spoor he always carried a pill container and took a lot of pills. On Dec. 27, 2015, a friend told the victim that Spoor had HIV. The victim contacted Spoor, who denied he had HIV.
Obtaining a subpoena for medical records, officers found on Dec. 22, 2012, Spoor was diagnosed with HIV-1/HV-2 combination and HIV-1 Western. On Jan. 3, 2013, he signed a duty to warn in accordance with IC 16-41-7-1. On Oct. 21, 2015, he signed a post-test counseling with Indiana State Department of Health indicating he is prohibited from engaging in sexual contact with anyone without first informing them of his HIV positive status.
On March 12, an officer with the Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department took a report from a victim who had met a male on Match.com. The male had claimed his name was “Ray Hildeman.”
The victim advised the two had talked for about two weeks before meeting in person. The man came to her residence on March 5 and ended up spending the entire week with her. During this period, they had unprotected sexual intercourse three times. The victim was never informed that he had HIV.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on March 12 the victim told the man he couldn’t stay any longer because her kids were coming home. The man collected his things and left, but forgot his wallet. The victim looked in the wallet and found Spoor’s identification. The photo on the identification matched the man she believed to be “Ray Hildeman.”
On March 13, the victim was shown a photo array of six men and was immediately able to identify Spoor as the man she knew as “Ray Hildeman.” Later that day, an officer spoke with Spoor. Spoor admitted to using a fake name on Match.com and having a relationship with the victim. He further admitted to not informing the victim that he was HIV positive.
On March 15, another victim came forward and reported to officials that she had met and had unprotected sex with Spoor in 2015. The victim stated she had met Spoor through PlentyofFish.com. She had spoken with Spoor online, by text and over the telephone. The victim met Spoor in person in April 2015, and they had unprotected sex approximately five times.
The victim said on April 25 and 26, 2015, she was at Spoor’s residence, in Silver Lake, where his parents live. She stated she they had unprotected sex twice at the residence. The victim stated Spoor had never told her he had HIV and had said his only medical problem was that he had lost an arm in a farming accident.
Spoor was arrested in December 2016 and charged with four counts of malicious mischief in Allen County Superior Court 4. The same month, a charge of failure to warn of a communicable disease, level D felony, and malicious mischief, level B misdemeanor, were filed in Wabash Circuit Court.