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UPDATE: B.C. man charged for allegedly failing to disclose HIV-positive status to partners

RCMP say Brian Carlisle of Abbotsford may have committed offences elsewhere in Lower Mainland
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Abbotsford resident Brian Carlisle, 47, has been charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault (RCMP handout)

The RCMP has taken the unusual step of warning the public about an HIV-positive man who allegedly had unprotected sex with multiple partners in the Lower Mainland after failing to disclose his status.

Abbotsford resident Brian Carlisle, 47, has been charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault after Mounties received a report on July 19, police said in a news release issued Aug. 3.

During the course of the investigation, however, other alleged victims were identified and it’s believed this man could have offended against additional women.

“Normally the RCMP would not disclose the medical status of a person charged with a criminal offence,” RCMP Cst. James Mason said. “However, in this case after careful consideration, the public interest clearly outweighs the invasion of Mr. Carlisle’s privacy.”

Offences have allegedly occurred in Mission, Abbotsford, Coquitlam and Burnaby, but Carlisle has been known to reside throughout the Lower Mainland, spending several years in the early 2000s in Chilliwack and Hope.

He may have also lived in Ontario, Manitoba New Brunswick and Vermont in the U.S.

Carlisle has an online presence on numerous social media and dating sites

Police are advising that anyone who has had intimate relations with him should visit a doctor for testing.

While his next court appearance is Sept. 11, he has been released on a number of imposed conditions, including not accessing or utilizing any social networking or online dating websites and advising any person he is intending to have sexual intercourse with of his HIV status. He also has to wear a condom during sexual intercourse.

Carlisle was in the news in the Fraser Valley often between 2001 and 2006 as a prominent marijuana activist and a would-be politician.

He received 451 votes running for the B.C. Marijuana Party in the 2001 provincial election in the Fraser Valley riding.

In 2002, he opened the Holy Smoke Healing Centre downtown Chilliwack as a place to help educate people about marijuana laws. Around that same time he became the 788th person in Canada to receive an exemption to cultivate and possess marijuana for medical purposes.

He told community news reporters as long ago as October 2002, in relation to his marijuana use, that he had seven debilitating conditions, including being HIV-positive, something that was mentioned in multiple subsequent stories.

Also in 2002, he received 13 per cent of the vote in an unsuccessful head-to-head bid for mayor of Chilliwack against Clint Hames. Then in 2003 he ran in a city council byelection, where he finished 10th out of 12 candidates garnering 38 votes.

Again in 2002, he went to the Hope RCMP detachment to pick up marijuana plants seized 16 months prior, but was refused.

Over the next four years he was in the news again and again.

In February 2003 he was told to stop offering legal services by the Law Society of B.C. Then on Sept. 1, 2004 he was the victim of a violent home invasion where attackers used pepper spray and a Taser on him. His wife and children were in the house at the time of the attack but were unharmed.

Then in 2005 he filed a complaint against nine Abbotsford Police Department officers in connection with a Jan. 6, 2005 raid on former Marijuana Party candidate Tim Felger’s Bradner Road farm where more than 2,000 plants were found.

In a March 29, 2005 story, it was reported that Carlisle used a vaporizer to inhale marijuana to ease nausea symptoms to treat his HIV/AIDS.

Carlisle is described as Caucasian, 220 pounds and 6’2” with blue eyes and short brown hair.

Anyone who has any information in relation to this investigation is asked to contact the dedicated tip line at 604-814-1644 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-8477 if you wish to remain anonymous


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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Brian Carlisle in December 2003 showing a Chilliwack reporter marijuana plants he was growing in his house. (Mike Chouinard photo)
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Brian Carlisle among marijuana plants in his back yard in July 2003. (Jenna Hauck/ The Progress file)
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Brian Carlisle in July 2002 at the Holy Smoke Healing Centre downtown Chilliwack. (Mike Chouinard photo)
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Brian Carlisle at a show of his art at R Gallery downtown Chilliwack in April 2006. (Mike Chouinard photo)
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Brian Carlisle in July 2002 at the Holy Smoke Healing Centre downtown Chilliwack. (Mike Chouinard photo)