by Michael Horsnell
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1620451.ece

April 6, 2007
HIV chef who recklessly infected his lover is jailed for nine years

An Italian chef who handed his lover a "death sentence" when he
recklessly infected her with HIV and hepatitis C was jailed for nine
years yesterday.

The sentence was criticised by the National Aids Trust, which said
that the case could undermine efforts to stop the spread of HIV.

Giovanni Mola, 38, who claimed to have had 200 lovers, refused to wear
condoms after starting a relationship with the woman in Edinburgh in
2003. He had been found to have the viruses three years earlier but
did not tell his new partner, who said she was a virgin.

Judge Lord Hodge told Mola at the High Court in Glasgow: "What you did
to Miss X was chillingly callous and showed utter indifference to her
welfare."

His victim, who cannot be identified, said she felt that she had been
given a death sentence by Mola when she had the viruses diagnosed.

Lord Hodge said: "She will have to take drugs with serious and
debilitating side-effects and may face hospitalisation. She may well
face an early death."

The relationship between Mola and the woman began after they met in a
shop. They had sex nine or ten times between September 2003 and
February 2004 but he wore protection only on the first and last
occasions.

His victim told the trial that he had "aggressively" refused to wear a
condom the other times. She broke down after being told that she had
tested positive at a clinic in Edinburgh for HIV and hepatitis C in
March 2004.

The woman said: "I just thought I'd been given a death sentence there
and then."

Mola was later arrested but then fled to Italy. He was extradited last
summer.

He was convicted of culpably and recklessly failing to tell his
partner that he carried the infection and endangering her health and
life by having unprotected sex with her.

Mola, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, including theft and
extortion, has been recommended for deportation at the end of his
sentence.

Aids charities criticised the prosecution and the nine-year sentence
given to Mola. Debo-rah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids
Trust, said: "The National Aids Trust does not condone Giovanni Mola's
actions in recklessly transmitting HIV to Miss X and strongly advises
all people living with HIV to protect sexual partners from infection.
However, it is important to understand that prosecuting people for
reckless transmission of HIV is actually undermining efforts to stop
the spread of HIV.

"Stigma and discrimination around HIV is increasing as people living
with HIV are cast as criminals, making it even more difficult for them
to tell other people. We are particularly concerned at the severity of
the sentence. Sending Giovanni Mola to prison is not the way to deal
with the HIV epidemic in Scotland and is likely to only make it
worse."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1620451.ece
by Michael Horsnell