Police said that Tambaoga’s other victims may be located in North Texas or even in Georgia. At the time, Carrollton police encouraged others who may be victims of Tambaoga to come forward. Since then, according to a spokesperson for the Carrollton Police Department, three more victims have claimed they were sexually assaulted by Tambaoga.
Our follow-up questions regarding the location of the most recent victims and whether they came forward as the result of news reports seeking additional possible victims were unanswered by publication time.
There is no current law specifically against the transmission of or exposure to HIV in Texas. One that was on the books was repealed in the 1990s. In Tambaoga's case, the charge is aggravated assault rather than assault, at least in part due to the presence of HIV.
It is not uncommon for survivors of sexual assault to file a police report well after the crime has occurred. Amy Lawrence, senior director of programs for The Turning Point, a rape crisis center in Plano, says there are actually many reasons that might happen.
“Often survivors are in a state of trauma, disbelief and confusion immediately following an assault,” Lawrence wrote in an email to the Observer. “There are many myths and stereotypes in society about what sexual assault looks like, and some survivors may even question their own experience, particularly in cases where the offender was not a stranger. Others may fear the reaction of others, whether in law enforcement or among their family or friends.”
According to the latest statistics gathered by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, an overwhelming majority of rapes go unreported. In 2018, only 40% of rapes were reported to the police, and in 2017 only 25% were reported. From October 2022 to September 2023, according to Denton County's Sexual Assault Response Team biennial report, 273 sexual assaults were reported in the county.
“Often survivors are in a state of trauma, disbelief, and confusion immediately following an assault." – Amy Lawrence, The Turning Point
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For Tambaoga’s possible victims, the stigma of HIV could have been another reason to delay reporting the crime or to not come forward at all.
“It’s important for survivors to know there are organizations like ours that provide confidential resources, information, and support, assuring them of their rights and how to receive help,” Lawrence noted. “We work closely with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation to ensure survivors can access free, confidential HIV and STI testing and along with prophylactic medications at their Dallas HIV testing site (Out of the Closet).”
Texas has seen some of the more heavily penalized cases of sexual assault involving HIV. In 2009, Philippe Padieu was found guilty of six counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sentenced to 45 years in prison in Collin County for knowingly exposing and infecting six sexual partners with HIV. In 2018, a Houston man, Karim Zakikhani, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for aggravated assault after being convicted for infecting his girlfriend with HIV.
Lawrence said that for the survivor, sexual assault “can be an incredibly vulnerable, isolating experience.” Something that might help victims of sexual assault feel safer in coming forward, however, is simply knowing that others have taken that major step.
“Each person’s response to assault and trauma is unique ,and the choices and decisions they make are valid,” she said. “Certainly, the more we can destigmatize this experience, speak about it more openly within the community, and create a culture that believes survivors, the easier it will be for survivors to come forward. In individual cases where an attacker’s arrest is made public and other victims have come forward, survivors can certainly experience solace and additional confidence to come forward knowing they are not alone.”
