Jermaine Scott, 39, of Jamaica, appeared in a Chester Crown Court in the U.K. Tuesday and pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm, Cheshire police said in a news release obtained by The Independent.

According to Cheshire police, Scott was diagnosed with HIV in 2005. As a result, he was prescribed medication to reduce the risk of transmission to others.

Scott was in a previous relationship with the unidentified victim, and the couple decided to rekindle their romance in the summer of 2009.

 

When the relationship became official, Scott was not taking his medication regularly, increasing the chances of transmission. He also failed to inform the victim about his diagnosis and proceeded to have unprotected sex with her.

The woman knew something was off with Scott and decided they should go to a sexual health clinic for a checkup in October 2009. At the time, Scott knowingly provided a fake name and medical details to a health worker at the facility.

When the victim found out she was HIV positive, the couple ended their relationship. Following their split, Scott left the Cheshire area, the newspaper stated.

The Cheshire Constabulary was notified of the incident in October 2009, and an investigation was launched to locate Scott, leading to his arrest in February 2011.

When Cheshire police interviewed Scott, he refused to answer any questions, and officers closed the case after they could not gather sufficient evidence to charge him in the incident. The 39-year-old was deported from the United Kingdom in November 2011 after living in the U.K. illegally.

After Scott’s deportation, the victim called for the case to be reopened. Detectives sought help from several medical experts and determined the woman had HIV three months before her diagnosis while in a relationship with Scott.

The medical experts identified the number of genetic links in the HIV strain the two were diagnosed with. Additionally, the new evidence was presented to the CPS in 2019, charging Scott with grievous bodily harm in February 2020, resulting in his extradition back to the U.K. in 2020.

Detective Sergeant Emma Myers, who led the investigation, said she supported the victim when the case initially reopened.

“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,” she said.

“She will now live the rest of her life forever marred by the actions of Scott. There is no cure, and she will now have to take medication for the rest of her life. 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,” Myers concluded.