IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge has upheld a 50-year prison term for an Iowa City man convicted of having unprotected sex with women while knowing he carried the virus that causes AIDS.

U.S. District Judge James Gritzner on Wednesday rejected a petition for post-conviction relief filed by Iowa prison inmate Adam Musser.

Musser was convicted on four counts of criminally transmitting HIV for failing to disclose to female sexual partners in 2002 and 2003 that he carried HIV. Musser had been diagnosed with HIV and was taking medication for it at the time.

After the Iowa Supreme Court upheld his conviction and sentence, he appealed to federal court.

Gritzner says Musser’s 50-year prison term was reasonable, noting he repeatedly subjected women to health risks. He says Musser’s rights were not violated.

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