A Zimbabwean man guilty of beating up a British police officer has been jailed for infecting a woman with HIV.
Simba Kuuya, from Rochdale, Manchester, a serial offender with 14 previous convictions including burglary, assaulting a police officer, theft, affray, battery against his mother, and assaulting a partner by glassing her in face with a smashed tumbler, has been found guilty of infecting the girlfriend he met on social networking website, Facebook.
The court heard that Kuuya, knew he had the virus for at least four years before he had unprotected sex with the woman, but kept it a secret from her.
The prosecutor, Susan Ferrier, said Kuuya and the woman, from Swansea, met in an online chat room and soon after exchanged phone numbers. They then began seeing each other.
When the relationship ended the woman contacted one of his former partners on the social media site Facebook — who broke the news to her that Kuuya had HIV.
The victim confronted the defendant about his medical condition but he denied it — however she sought a blood test at Singleton Hospital which came back positive.
Kuuya, of Rhodes Crescent, Rochdale, Greater Manchester, had previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm when he appeared via videolink for sentencing.
Swansea Crown Court heard that although the woman Kuuya infected felt physically well, the diagnosis had had a “devastating” effect on her and her family, and left her feeling angry and upset.
The woman said Kuuya had never told her the truth about his condition, adding: “I have to live with this for the rest of my life”.
The court was told Kuuya has 14 previous convictions for 25 offences including burglary, assaulting a police officer, theft, affray, battery against his mother, and assaulting a partner by glassing her in face with a smashed tumbler.
Huw Rees, in mitigation, said the defendant had been in denial about his condition, something which “sadly had consequences for others”.
His Honour Judge Christopher Vosper QC told the defendant he had chosen to hide the fact he had HIV from his new partner.
He told him: “Her life has been completely changed by being infected — something that could easily have been avoided if you had been honest from the start.
“You chose to conceal something from her that you should have been open about — the consequences have been devastating.”
Kuuya was sentenced to 28 months in prison. – ITV/ZimEye/Agencies