Luke Davis, 31, from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a woman by infecting her with HIV. Davis, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2017, initially took his medication but stopped all treatment in 2019, Hereford Crown Court heard.
He did not disclose his diagnosis to the woman, who discovered she was HIV positive in 2021 during a routine screening. Judge Martin Jackson said Davis acted for “entirely selfish reasons” and showed “a significant degree of premeditation” by ignoring medical advice to use protection and inform sexual partners.
The victim described her diagnosis as a “life sentence” and said she felt “physically sick as though my skin was crawling.” In a statement read to the court, she added: “I struggle to love myself as I see this as a part of me I can never get rid of.”
The court heard that Davis had lost his 13-month-old baby in 2017 and blamed himself for bringing Covid into his grandfather’s home, which led to his death in 2020. After Davis was reported to police, an investigation revealed he had been sexually promiscuous with several other partners, but no further victims have been identified.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Giovanni D’Alessandro said: “We hope the sentence imposed provides some measure of justice to the victim and dissuades others from this type of dangerous and reckless behaviour.”
