A Merseyside man pleaded guilty in November 2006 to passing HIV on to a woman with whom he had an eight month relationship.

However, newspaper coverage hinted that both he and the women may have had mental health problems and that the woman’s family were involved in the decision to bring a prosecution. The defence lawyer also reportedly told the court that his client believed he had originally got HIV after giving someone mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which is unheard of and highly unlikely. Reports suggested that he could be in denial about his HIV diagnosis, and that this may have explained why he did not disclose his HIV status to his partner.

The man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.