Teeside, May 2004

In 2004 a man originally from Malawi and settled by the asylum service in Middlesborough, was convicted of infecting three women. He was sentenced to 10 years, with deportation recommended on completion of the prison term. His conviction was upheld on appeal in 2005. This case came to the attention of the police following a complaint from the GP of one of the women, who was 15 at the time of the offence.

A key outcome of the appeal related to the notion of consent. The Court of Appeal rejected the argument that by agreeing to unprotected sex the women had consented to the risk of HIV transmission. The Court viewed the women’s consent as not valid as they were unaware their partner had HIV, meaning they did not give informed consent. This judgement effectively means that people with HIV who do not tell their sexual partners they have HIV before sex are liable to prosecution if an infection then follows.