!Trial began this morning for a 30-year-old Lawrence man charged with exposing four women to HIV in the past year.During an opening statement, a prosecutor characterized Robert W. Richardson II as someone who wanted to live a normal life — and to him, that meant having unprotected sex. “The defendant was not normal, ladies and gentlemen,” Assistant Dist. Atty. Trent Krug said. “The defendant was afflicted with HIV, and he kept those scarlet letters a secret from the four women you’re going to hear today.”Defense attorney Thomas Johnson said in his opening statement that “this is not a sex case,” but rather a case about Richardson’s intentions and the scientific information about how HIV is passed. Even though Richardson did not use a condom with three of the women- the fourth alleges he took a condom off during sex -Johnson said the women were protected by Richardson’s use of anti-retroviral drugs.He pointed out that in a November 2005 lab test, Richardson had such a small quantity of the virus in his blood- a “viral load” of less than 50 – that it couldn’t be pinpointed.”At these levels… science just doesn’t know” whether the disease can even be transmitted, he said.If Richardson had intended to expose the women, Johnson said, he would have stopped taking the drugs.But the first witness, Richardson’s personal doctor, Christopher Penn, testified it was possible for someone to be exposed to the virus through intercourse even at those low levels.”I can’t say that there was no potential for exposure, based on the numbers that I have,” Penn said. Penn, who has treated Richardson since 2003, testified about the fluctuating levels of the virus found in Richardson’s body at different times.The women all had sex with Richardson between August 2005 and January 2006. In February 2005, a test showed Richardson had a “viral load” of 11,700, and he was placed on a new drug regimen. In November 2005 it had dropped to less than 50, although Penn said the virus was still detected.In June 2006, a test showed the “viral load” had increased to 2,025, and in August 2006 it was 826, Penn said.The doctor said the low level indicated by Richardson’s November 2005 test could not predict how much of the virus was in his body in later months.-contributed by Eric Weslander.