A transgender prostitute who was jailed for infecting a client with HIV is fighting to maintain her from being permanently deported to Recent Zealand.
CJ Palmer was convicted within the District Court of Western Australia in 2018 for one count serious damage to health related to having sex with a client.
The person became HIV-positive in the course of the meeting, regardless that Mrs Palmer knew he was HIV-positive.
Ms Palmer was then sentenced to 6 years’ imprisonment, which was reduced to 4 years on appeal.
She had been a resident of Australia since 2006, but her visa was subject to mandatory cancellation as a result of criminal record.
Ms Palmer was eventually deported from Australia to Recent Zealand after the minister’s decision to cancel her visa.
Ms Palmer’s lawyers from the HIV/AIDS Legal Center appeared in Sydney’s federal court on Tuesday searching for to overturn the choice.
![Clayton Palmer](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009807443.jpg?w=1024)
Ms Palmer’s attorney, Bora Kaplan, said she had difficulty coming to terms with her diagnosis on the time of the crime, but was taking medication that lowered her probabilities of infecting her partner.
“The evidence presented to the (immigration) minister was quite clear in my respectful statement and it was Mrs Palmer who has consistently taken the medication since 2016,” Kaplan said.
“Importantly, even during those times when she was relapsed into illegal drug use, there was nothing to suggest that she was vulnerable to stopping taking these drugs in the longer term.
“Evidence has shown that HIV can’t be transmitted from A to B if A has an undetectable viral load, as Palmer did.”
![A New Zealand transgender sex worker who was convicted of infecting a client with HIV is struggling to make a living in Australia.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009807441.jpg?w=1024)
Nonetheless, Mr Kaplan admitted that Mrs Palmer’s first response to the diagnosis was denial.
“The one reason why the defendant can’t be defended is the second of those reasons I listed in section 30,” he said.
“That is, prior to starting treatment, Mrs. Palmer denied her diagnosis, took drugs and was reckless in her approach to her own sexual health and the health of her sexual partners.”
Ms Palmer had previously told the tribunal she desired to stay in Australia and maintain contacts with communities including HIV-positive people, transgender people and prostitutes.
The trial was adjourned.