Jermaine Scott, a 39-year-old Jamaican has been jailed in the United Kingdom for knowingly infecting a woman with HIV.
Scott appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday. He was sentenced to three years in prison and had previously pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm.
Reports from the Cheshire Constabulary are that Scott was diagnosed with HIV in 2005 and had been prescribed medication to minimize the risk of transmission to others.
It is said that he and the victim had previously been in a relationship and rekindled their relationship in the summer of 2009.
According to police reports, there was a heightened chance of transmission because Scott was not taking his medication consistently when the relationship restarted.
He also allegedly neglected to share his diagnosis with the victim and engaged in unprotected sex with her.
In October 2009, the pair attended a sexual health clinic when Scott provided a false name and false medical details to the health worker, the Cheshire Constabulary said.
The victim subsequently tested positive for HIV and the couple ended their relationship. Following their split, Scott left the Cheshire area.
When the incident was reported to Cheshire Constabulary in October 2009, a search for Scott was launched.
In February 2011, he was found and detained as a result of a public appeal.
Police reports state that Scott refused to answer any questions from the officers. Despite a thorough investigation, officers were unable to compile enough evidence to charge Scott in connection with the event, therefore the matter was closed.
In November 2011, he was deported to Jamaica after it was found that he was in the UK illegally.
According to reports, the victim requested that the case be reopened, and medical experts later found that it was very likely that the victim had contracted HIV in the three months before her diagnosis, while she was dating Scott.
Furthermore, the Cheshire Constabulary said they also identified several genetic links between the strain of HIV that the victim had been diagnosed with and that of the offender.
In 2019, additional evidence was presented to charge Scott with grievous bodily harm.
An extradition warrant was issued, and Jermaine Scott returned to the UK in November 2022 to be charged.
