Leicester man with HIV jailed for spreading virus to partner
A man who is HIV positive has been jailed for knowingly infecting his former partner with the virus.
The man, aged 32, who cannot be named, was found guilty by jury at Leicester Crown Court for one count of grievous bodily harm between 2006 and 2008.
During the trial the court heard that the man was diagnosed in 2004 and spread the virus because he felt he did not deserve to have HIV.
The judge sentenced him to four-and-a-half years in jail.
Giving evidence in the trial, an ex-partner said she met the defendant when she was 16 and he failed to tell her he was HIV positive during their two-year relationship.
The couple had a baby together and she said she only found out she was infected when medical staff told her.
"I was surprised and puzzled, I'd been with this man for two years and he'd never mentioned it," she said.
The child did not inherit the virus.
She said the defendant later told her he did not deserve to have the virus so set about to spread it.
The defendant, who denied the charges, said he had warned all sexual partners about his condition.
A second charge of grievous bodily harm against another former partner was thrown out by the judge on the the grounds of "insufficient evidence".
Judge Michael Pert QC sentenced the man to four-and-a-half years in jail.
He was also placed on a 10 year anti-social behaviour order which declared he must not have sex without first disclosing to the person he is HIV positive.