A man has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm after he recklessly infected a woman with HIV, having stopped his treatment and concealed his diagnosis.
A 'Life Sentence' for the Victim
Luke Davis, 31, from Kidderminster in Worcestershire, was convicted last October. His victim, who cannot be named, described contracting the sexually-transmitted infection as a 'life sentence'. She discovered she was HIV positive in 2021 following a routine health screening.
In a victim impact statement read to Hereford Crown Court, she said the diagnosis made her feel 'physically sick as though my skin was crawling' and marked 'the darkest time in my life'. She added: 'I struggle to love myself as I see this disease as a part of me I can never get rid of. To me, it's a life sentence as I will never be, or see myself, as the same.'
Deliberate Concealment and Ignored Advice
The court heard that Davis was diagnosed with HIV in 2017 and initially took medication. However, he completely disengaged from his medical care in 2019. Judge Martin Jackson said Davis chose not to inform the woman of his condition for 'entirely selfish reasons'.
'You had been told by the healthcare service, following your diagnosis, that it was important that you used protection, condoms, that it was important you were open with any future sexual partners,' Judge Jackson told the defendant. 'You chose to ignore that advice.'
The judge concluded that someone who chooses to withhold such critical information acts with 'a significant degree of premeditation'. He emphasised the lasting consequences for the victim, who must manage the condition and live with the constant threat of the virus becoming serious, even fatal.
Sentencing and Aftermath
Davis showed no reaction as he was sentenced via video-link from HMP Hewell on Monday. In a statement, his mother said life had been 'unkind to him', citing the death of his 13-month-old baby in 2017 and his grandfather from Covid-19 in 2020, which Davis blamed himself for. She said 'emotional trauma led him down a path he never would have chosen in better circumstances.'
Following the sentencing, Giovanni D'Alessandro, a senior crown prosecutor for the CPS West Midlands complex casework unit, stated: 'This was a reckless and selfish individual who has caused irreparable damage by his actions. We hope the sentence imposed provides some measure of justice to the victim and dissuades others from this type of dangerous and reckless behaviour.'
