Man jailed after infecting woman with HIV

A man who "recklessly" put a woman at risk when he infected her with HIV has been jailed for four and half years.

Luke Davis, 31, of George Street, Kidderminster, was sentenced at Hereford Crown Court on Monday after being found guilty in October of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Davis, who had pleaded not guilty at previous hearings, did not disclose his HIV status to the woman, or maintain his treatment for the illness.

During the trial, his victim gave evidence that during the period in which she became infected with HIV, she had only had sexual intercourse with Davis, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, discovered she was HIV positive in 2021, after a routine screening.

In her victim statement read to the court, she said she felt sick "as though my skin was crawling" after being diagnosed, which she described as "the darkest time in my life".

"I struggle to love myself as I see this disease as a part of me I can never get rid of," she said.

"To me, it's a life sentence as I will never be, or see myself, as the same."

Davis tested positive for HIV in August 2017 and began treatment the following January, according to the CPS.

"Medical professionals advised him about the importance of taking his medication daily to keep the virus suppressed and prevent transmission," it added.

But Davis attended his last clinic appointment on 18 September 2018 and stopped medication deliveries a year later.

Police found a bottle from September 2019 which still contained pills, and in 2021 Davis admitted to his social worker he had stopped taking them.

Scientific evidence later confirmed the victim had been infected with exactly the same strain as Davis.

Judge Martin Jackson told Davis he had ignored the advice of healthcare workers.

"I'm satisfied that somebody ... who chooses not to tell that other person they are carrying a condition such as HIV, who chooses to ignore advice about informing partners ... does so, in my view, with a significant degree of premeditation," the judge said.

"There are consequences, [the victim] has to be aware of managing that, and she lives with the constant threat that that virus could prove really quite serious indeed... to the point of being fatal."

Giovanni D'Alessandro from the CPS said: "This was a reckless and selfish individual who has caused irreparable damage by his actions.

"Luke Davis had been on the appropriate medication and knew he had to take it every day and have regular check-ups. His medication reduced the viral load to such a low level that it was controlled and could not be passed on.

"He further failed to inform the victim of his diagnosis and recklessly put them at risk of contracting the disease which they subsequently did."

In a court statement written by Davis's mother, she said life had been "unkind to him", including the death of his 13-month-old baby in 2017.

She said Davis also blamed himself for bringing Covid into his grandfather's home, an illness which caused his death in 2020.

"Emotional trauma led him down a path he never would have chosen in better circumstances," she said.

Det Supt Gerald Smith, of West Mercia Police, said the sentencing was "hugely important" for the victim who would continue to receive medical treatment for life.

"I would like to praise the victim again for their remarkable courage in reporting Davis to police and their ongoing bravery shown during what has been a complex and sensitive investigation," he said.

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