And told her to spread it so more people
suffered too
An HIV sufferer infected his teenage girlfriend with the disease after
keeping his diagnosis a secret then urged her to 'sleep around' in order to
spread the illness, a court heard today.
A jury was told the 'callous' 32-year-old hid
the fact he had the virus from four partners, playing 'Russian Roulette'
with their lives
A jury was told the 'callous' 32-year-old hid the fact he had the virus
from four partners, playing 'Russian Roulette' with their lives.
He passed it on to two of them - including the teenager, who was just
16 when they met, it was claimed.
Leicester Crown Court heard the man, who cannot be named for legal
reasons, suggested to the college student that they should sleep with other
people so they wouldn’t be alone in having HIV.
She wept as she told the hearing how he ‘believed he should spread the
virus as he hadn’t done anything wrong to get it’.
His second alleged victim was a woman in her early
20s he met after the
teenager left him.
Prosecutors say the 'utterly selfish' man had unprotected sex with four
women after being diagnosed with HIV in 2004, failing to tell any of them he
had the condition.
He denies two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm between 2006
and 2010. The man claims he
told the women he was HIV positive.
told the women he was HIV positive.
The court heard he met the teenager in Leicester 2006 when she was 16
and he was 26.
She told jurors that a few months into the relationship, he suggested they
try for a baby - and although she was 'surprised' and thought she was 'too
young', she agreed because she was in love with him.
They moved in together in Leicester after she fell pregnant,
but the man became 'violent and aggressive', and after she gave birth to a son.
The woman, now in her 20s, said that after she went back to
college following the birth, he would often bring girls to their home while she
was out, claiming they were 'just friends'.
But when their child was a year old, the man started showing
signs of a sexually transmitted infection - which he blamed on her 'cheating' -
and the couple went to hospital for tests.
She was tested for the virus - and the following day was
given the devastating news that she too
had it. Their son was also checked but his result was negative.
had it. Their son was also checked but his result was negative.
The woman told the court: 'I was very surprised and puzzled
because I had been living with this man for two years and he never mentioned it
at all to me.
'He said he had told me, and I said "No, you did
not". That is something that is so important. He didn’t seem fazed by it.
It did not surprise him.'
The woman, whose dreams of becoming a midwife were wrecked
by the diagnosis, said she managed to forgive him as their son 'needed two
parents' - but the couple eventually split up in the spring
of 2009.
of 2009.
However, before they separated, she told how he asked her to
'sleep around and give it to other
people'.
people'.
She added: 'This was so it would not just be us that were
HIV positive.
'He believed that he had done nothing wrong or anything to
get the virus. He believed he should not have the virus so he should spread
it.'
Image showing the HIV virus within the bloodstream
The court heard the man’s second alleged began having
unprotected sex with him after he told her he ‘could not use condoms’.
In January 2010 she received an anonymous phone call asking
who her partner was and suggesting she take an HIV test.
It was claimed the man did not admit to having HIV until the
day before the she was due to get her results.
Rebecca Herbert, prosecuting, earlier told jurors: 'When she
went to get the results, she was
expecting the worst and her fears were confirmed.'
She added: 'Few women in their right minds, let alone two
or, indeed, four of them, would have unprotected sex with a man with HIV.
'He’s been utterly selfish, showing callous disregard and
recklessness towards them and their wellbeing.
'Having unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive is
a bit like Russian Roulette. You might be lucky and might not get it - or you
might.'
The police later contacted two other sexual partners of the
man and advised them to have tests, which came back negative.
Mrs Herbert said samples from the defendant and the two
alleged victims showed they all had sub type C
virus.
She said that out of 300 HIV strains registered on the world
database, their strain was 'distinct
and very similar to each other'.
and very similar to each other'.
The trial continues.
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