A personal trainer is sentenced to five years in jail after spreading HIV to unsuspecting women.
Simon James, 46, was found guilty by the Bristol Crown Court in the UK for two counts of grievous bodily harm by a unanimous jury after only an hour of deliberation within a five-day trial during October. This is the first kind of ruling in Bristol and third in the UK.
According to court documents, James was diagnosed with HIV in 1995. The first complainant mentioned that early into the relationship, both of them were already engaged in "rough sex" and that James decided not to wear condoms anymore since they would not fit properly or that he was allergic to latex.
However, the woman found out about the condition when James personally approached the police and complained harassment against someone because he was HIV positive and was gay. When the woman tried to confirm his condition with James, the physical fitness trainer did not deny it but said he was taking medications that made him low risk even if that was not true either.
Both continued with the relationship but eventually broke up. She later learned she had HIV. Another woman, the second complainant, reached out to her to inform her of James's condition. She later tested positive of the same virus.
James denied committing any wrongdoing with these women. His defense lawyer said that James was suffering from a form of mental breakdown and both physical and mental health disorder that made him less rational at a certain time in his life.
However, the recorder said that what he did was "deliberate selfishness." His intention was really to have sex with these women without any protection even if he is aware of having the virus and its possible consequences.
In Hollywood, actor Charlie Sheen, who has also recently admitted his HIV diagnosis, is sued by his former fiancée Brett Rossi for negligence, assault, battery, and non-disclosure of his illness.
