Record details
A man from Jamaica who recklessly transmitted HIV to a woman has been jailed.
Jermaine Scott appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 4 April where he was sentenced to three years in prison.
The 39-year-old, from Jamaica, had previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm (section 20 assault).
Scott was diagnosed with HIV in 2005 and had been prescribed medication which if taken would have elimited the risk of transmission to others.
He and the victim had previously been in a relationship and rekindled their relationship in the summer of 2009.
When the relationship restarted, Scott was not taking his tablets regularly meaning that there was a higher risk of transmission. He also failed to inform the victim of his diagnosis and went on to have unprotected sex with the woman.
The victim became suspicious of his behaviour, and in October 2009, the pair attended a sexual health clinic. While at the clinic Scott provided a false name and false medical details to the health worker.
The victim subsequently tested positive for HIV and the pair ended their relationship. Following their split, Scott left the Cheshire area.
The incident was reported to Cheshire Constabulary in October 2009 and an investigation was launched to locate Scott. Following a public appeal, he was located and arrested in February 2011.
Scott refused to answer any questions put to him by officers and despite a detailed investigation officers were unable to gather sufficient evidence to charge him in relation to the incident and the case was closed. He was subsequently deported from the UK in November 2011 after it was found that he was in the UK illegally.
Shortly after his deportation, the victim asked the case to be reopened and detectives subsequently sought help from a number of medical experts who revealed that it was highly likely that the victim had been infected with HIV in the three months prior to her diagnosis, while she was in a relationship with Scott.
They also identified a number of genetic links between the strain of HIV that the victim had been diagnosed with and that of the offender.
In 2019 the additional evidence was presented to the CPS who agreed to charge Scott with grievous bodily harm (section 20 assault) in February 2020. An extradition warrant was issued, and he was returned to the UK in November 2022 to be charged in connection with the incident.
