2.15PM: Allegations that one of the Safe Sex Poster Boys fronting a major NZ AIDS Foundation campaign has been engaging in unsafe sex in a relationship with a teenage partner are untrue and were made out of spite, according to an investigation by the Foundation.

Rumours circulating in the gay community for some weeks that a Wellington-based poster boy was not practising what he preached led the Foundation to announce last week that it was taking the matter seriously. This morning, after tracking down the teenager at the heart of the allegations, the Foundation has advised that the allegation sprang from ill feelings generated by a stormy and recent relationship break-up with one of the poster boys.

GayNZ.com has not so far been able to speak directly with the teenager, but the Foundation says the young man has come clean, admitting that "after our relationship ended, we had a big fight and wanted to be as spiteful as possible towards each other," the young man said. "One way I thought of getting back at him was telling someone that we didn�t have safe sex, to see their reaction. And it caused a big problem."

The Foundation says the young man has now confirmed that condoms were used throughout the relationship and has explained that he knew allegations of unsafe sex against a poster boy would get a reaction, so he told a member of Wellington�s gay community who he knew would spread the story further.

The Wellington man close to the teenager who provided background to his claims last week says that he must accept the teen's reported admission. "If that's what he says then we have to accept that," he says. "It seems strange to me that he is now changing his story, but we must take it at face value." He says he prefers not to speculate on how the teen's flip flopping story might affect the supportive relationship he has fostered with the youth.

An additional rumour that another Safe Sex Poster Boy had been involved in unsafe sex since the campaign began has also been investigated by Foundation staff who say it has been found to be groundless. "We are disgusted at specific individuals in the community, including some gay media, who have seen fit to spread such malicious rumours without any solid evidence to back them up," says Douglas Jenkin, NZAF Campaigns Co-ordinator.

Responding the Foundation's "disgust" about the role played by some of the gay media, GayNZ.com's content editor says news writers at the website, the only gay media to so far report the controversy, were aware of the rumour over a week before running the story and had even discreetly alerted the Foundation to the mounting rumour. "We then monitored the situation and only reported it when the Foundation itself went public about taking the matter seriously. We of course had to background the Foundation's concern," Jay Bennie says. "I believe we have acted responsibly in our ongoing reporting."

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Poster Boy claim "untrue & based on spite"