Police launch international hunt for HIV spreader
Police have widened their search to the continent for a fugitive who passed on HIV to his male partner.
MJ, 47, was sentenced to three years and four months in jail when he failed to appear in court in August last year.
Police have been looking for him since he first missed a court date at Isleworth Crown Court in July last year.
A nationwide hunt has so far failed to find J and the Metropolitan Police said the search was now international.
Police said their inquiries led them to believe J had spent time in France.
J, of Burgess Hill, is the first gay man to be convicted of recklessly passing on the virus.
He admitted causing grievous bodily harm but then unsuccessfully tried to change his plea, claiming he had received poor legal advice.
J, a businessman, went missing between pleading guilty and his sentencing.
He did not tell his 38-year-old partner he had had the HIV virus diagnosed and continued having unprotected sex even though he had been told in April 2004 that he had the virus.
Police were notified about the crime while investigating allegations of domestic violence made by J’s partner.
The Metropolitan Police have said they are committed to ensuring that J is tracked down and put before the court so he can be held responsible for his actions.
