Cruel man recklessly infects woman with HIV before she finds out on Google
A man has been jailed for infecting a woman with HIV which only came to light when she Googled him and found a disturbing news article.
Daniel Shaw had unprotected sex with his victim despite knowing he was HIV positive and not taking his medication nor telling her about it.
When the woman later decided to look up Shaw online, the search conjured a news story from October 2020 where he had been jailed for sending intimate pictures of a woman to her father, as well as charges of harassment and breaching a restraining order.
But further down in the story, it was mentioned as part of mitigation from his defence lawyer how the 43-year-old from Leeds had HIV which he was struggling to manage during the pandemic.
Shortly later, the woman began to notice she was feeling unwell and, to her horror, tested positive for the condition.
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The woman was horrified to learn she too had HIV after coming across the article about Shaw (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Confronting Shaw, he denied keeping his condition a secret - gaslighting her into thinking she had been told.
His victim reported the matter to police, with Shaw also lying to detectives claiming the woman had known about his HIV and deciding to take the risk.
West Yorkshire Police said Shaw also claimed he was regularly taking his medication, but an investigation uncovered "overwhelming evidence to the contrary".
Medical records showed Shaw was regularly skipping appointments and didn't collect medication to manage his condition, ultimately taking no steps to reduce his risk of infection to sexual partners.
Shaw continued his denial about the victim being unaware of his HIV until he was later charged with grevious bodily harm, pleading guilty in April.
Prosecutor Gillian Batts told the court the victim had sent the article to her cousin, who described her as "sounding distraught" and "in fear of the consequences", Leeds Live reports.
"The police went to her and advised her to book a doctor's appointment to be tested and after a few days she had flu like symptoms.
"She underwent blood tests...she had internal bleeding and felt she was going to die."
Shaw has been jailed (West Yorkshire Police)A judge at Leeds Crown court on Tuesday jailed Shaw for three years and four months for the harm inflicted on the woman.
His Honour Judge Tom Bayliss KC said the woman's viral load was eight times that which is considered to be a safe load and was in "grave danger".
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Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Lambert, from the force, said: “It is important that we recognise the courage that the victim has shown in coming forward to report an offence of this nature.
“She has described herself as being completely devastated by Shaw’s actions, which will continue to have a significant impact on her life.
“We hope that seeing him held criminally responsible will provide her with some degree of reassurance as she continues to move on with her life.
“This was a complex and challenging case to investigate, and we hope it will help to demonstrate our commitment to getting justice for victims.”
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