Man who infected two women with HIV and ‘took coward’s way out’ is jailed

A man who knowingly infected two women with HIV and ‘took the coward’s way out’ by remaining silent has today been jailed for more than six years.

Aaron Sutcliffe failed to tell the victims he had HIV and has now left both terrified they will pass the virus onto their children.

A court heard the 29-year-old ignored his ‘moral and legal obligation’ to disclose his condition to the women and instead ‘took the coward’s way out’.

But Sutcliffe, of Fleetwood, Lancashire, was today sentenced to six years and nine months in prison after he earlier admitted two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Sentencing at Preston Crown Court, Judge Philip Parry said: ‘You wilfully and deliberately withheld your status to two women that you professed to care for. That was deceitful, calculated and manipulative.

‘You took the coward’s way out, kept your silence and infected them. You had no right to do so.

‘You bore an overwhelming responsibility for your own selfish actions which have left such devastation in your wake.’

Judge Parry also imposed a sexual harm prevention order on Sutcliffe which – until further notice – prohibits him from engaging in lawful sex with another person unless he has told them he has HIV and they understood and acknowledged the disclosure.

Sutcliffe was previously subject to an order which required him to provide contact details of partners to Lancashire Police’s public protection unit and then wait for written approval before having intercourse wearing a condom.

The man was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 but the offences took place on various dates between 2009 and 2016.

The court heard how Sutcliffe had ‘ample opportunity’ to tell both partners of his status.

But the judge said he left one with a ‘life sentence’.

Sutcliffe’s second victim contracted the virus after he complained he was struggling to put a condom on. She told the court that Sutcliffe had robbed her of ‘precious early months of bonding’ with her child as she took to wearing gloves to feed and change the infant.

The court heard Sutcliffe was said to have a background of alcohol and drug abuse, and had been referred to mental health services on numerous occasions.

Detective Constable Emma Shuttleworth, of Lancashire Police, said: ‘Aaron Sutcliffe had numerous opportunities to tell both of his victims that he was HIV positive and he failed to do so.

‘His intention may not have been to harm but he has been as reckless as it is possible to be and he has demonstrated a flagrant disregard for the health of these two women, whose lives and the lives of their families have been changed irrevocably through his actions.’

Kat Smithson, director of policy and campaigns at NAT, the National Aids Trust, said most people living with HIV in the UK were on effective treatment and the virus was ‘much more commonly acquired from someone who is unaware of their status’.

‘It is saddening and concerning to hear statements to the effect that individuals have experienced worries that they may pass HIV on to their children – we want to be very clear that there is no risk of passing HIV on through day to day contact like this and we hope to reassure anyone recently diagnosed of this.’

‘Hundreds of women living with HIV every year give birth to and raise children who are HIV negative.’

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