Hope man found guilty of exposing another individual to HIV

On Wednesday, July 31st, 2024, a Hempstead County Jury found a Hope man guilty of Rape and Exposing another individual to the HIV virus following a three-day trial. Terry Michael Wesley, 33, from Hope, AR, had been arrested on New Year’s Day 2023 and has been in custody since.

The jury sentenced Wesley to sixty years for Rape and fifty years for Exposing another to HIV, with the sentences to run consecutively. Wesley is eligible for parole after serving an estimated fifty-four years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.

The Hope Police Department conducted the investigation, while the 8th Judicial District North Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, represented by Ben Hale and Jim Burke, prosecuted the case. Judge Duncan Culpepper oversaw the proceedings.