Nadja Benaissa, an HIV-positive pop star who infected a former sex partner, avoided jail on Thursday after a German court handed her a two-year suspended sentence. The court in Darmstadt convicted the 28-year-old member of girl group No Angels, on one count of grievous bodily harm and two counts of attempted bodily harm. Presiding Judge Dennis Wacker also ordered her to do 300 hours of community service, saying the relatively light sentence was appropriate because she had "learned to be responsible and deal with her illness." Benaissa sighed deeply with relief when the verdict was read out. She  had confessed to having unprotected sex and keeping her virus secret but denied intending to infect anyone during a trial that has sparked a media frenzy in Germany. The charges against Benaissa could have led to up to 10 years behind bars, but both the prosecutors and the defense argued for a suspended sentence as she had admitted to the crime and said sorry. The man, who was a plaintiff in the case, launched a bitter and scathing attack on the singer during the trial, accusing her of causing "a lot of suffering in this world."
The all-female band split up in 2003, but reformed in 2007 and competed in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, coming 23rd out of 25 countries.