Man who knowingly infected woman with HIV is jailed for only three years after being extradited from Jamaica to face justice in UK

A man who knowingly infected his then-partner with HIV has been extradited to the UK and jailed for only three years after.

At Chester Crown Court yesterday, Jamaican-born Jermaine Scott was jailed for three years for the incident after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm.  

Scott had been diagnosed with the virus in 2005 and had been prescribed medicine to control the condition and prevent it from spreading to others.

The victim had previously been in a relationship with Scott which the pair struck up again 2009, four years after his diagnosis.  

However, Scott did not regularly take his tablets or tell his victim he was carrying the virus and proceeded to have unprotected sex with her,  infecting her with HIV.  

After she tested positive for the virus, Scott left Cheshire and was the subject of a police manhunt.

When he was arrested in 2011, police found that they lacked ‘sufficient evidence to charge him’ and he was released – being deported back to Jamaica nine months later after he was found to have been in the UK illegally.

Meanwhile, his victim who was living with the virus and taking pills to control her condition asked authorities to reopen the case.

Together with medical experts, police worked to identify a ‘number of genetic links between the strain of HIV that the victim had been diagnosed with and that of the offender.’

When these were established, police were able to issue a charge of grievous bodily harm against Scott in February 2020 and he was extradited back to the UK in 2022.

In post-sentencing remarks, Det Sgt Emma Myers said the victim would ‘live the rest of her life forever marred by the actions of Scott’.

She said: ‘It has taken more than 12 years to reach this point, and having supported the victim throughout the investigation, I have seen first-hand the pain and suffering that she has endured, both physically and psychologically.

‘Scott’s actions have also affected her relationships with others and she no longer trusts men.

‘While no sentence will ever be enough, I do hope that the fact that Scott is now behind bars and has been held accountable will provide her with some closure.’