JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The former JTA bus driver accused of sleeping with several woman and not disclosing his HIV status is continuing to plead not guilty to the charges.
Thursday, a pretrial motion to force JP Lowe into giving a blood sample to determine his status was granted by a judge.
His ex-wife, a woman who has been instrumental in telling some of those women about Lowe's status, has come forward telling her side of the story.
READ: New details released in bus driver HIV case
Peggy Highberger said she was married to Lowe for seven years and stuck with him after she said he found out he had the disease.
She said they ended up separating in 2002 after she found out he was having affairs with other women.
Highberger said she's been waiting, sure Lowe would continue sleeping with women without telling them his status, since they separated years ago, which is one reason why she reaches out to many of the woman tied to Lowe because she believed they deserved to know.
Even after being with Lowe for so long, Highberger does not have HIV, which she feels is a blessing, and doesn't want any other woman to contract it because Lowe is upfront with them.
"I don't feel like lucky, I feel very blessed," Highberger said.
But it doesn't stop her from getting tested yearly.
"I keep feeling like maybe one day it's going rear its ugly head, maybe it's hiding and dormant or whatever, and it's going to raise up one day and I'm going to be positive. I'm terrified of that," Highberger said.
Highberger said she married Lowe in 1997 after finding out he had HIV.
"I thought, 'Wow, since I had already been exposed I would never be with anyone else, so I might as well marry him,'" Highberger said. "Because he portrayed to me that it was a shock, it was his first thing he ever heard about."
She said after years of infidelity they separated. She said he began sleeping with other women and she feared they didn't know about his HIV status.
"I found J, every time he'd go somewhere, I would find him and I would follow and I would try to reach out to these woman, not because I am being vindictive, but this is some serious stuff and he is being very evil," Highberger said.
In 2003, a woman in Lake County told police Lowe never told her he had HIV and they were physically intimate. She said she found out after Highberger provided her with medical records.
Lowe was arrested and plead no contest and was given probation and adjudication was withheld.
Fast forward to 2015 and three woman have come forward to police saying they had unprotected sex with Lowe without knowing he had HIV.
The first victim said Highberger contacted her and the second victim said she found out about Lowe's status when that first victim Highberger contacted, contacted her.
The third victim claimed she came forward after seeing news coverage of Lowe's arrest.
Highberger said she believes there may be other victims out there.
"(Maybe) they're embarrassed. When it comes to my life I'm not embarrassed at all," Highberger said.
Lowe is expected to be in court again Aug. 11th for another pretrial hearing.
News4Jax reached out to the Public Defenders Office to see if the attorney representing Lowe wanted to make a comment but they declined.