John Rodney: Man jailed for infecting women with HIV

The court heard Rodney did not regularly take medication that would have reduced his risk of infecting others

A man who admitted "recklessly" infecting three women with HIV has been jailed for eight years.

John Nehemiah Rodney, 61, from Swindon, tested positive for the virus in August 2013 but continued to have unprotected sex for several years.

Rodney had initially denied inflicting grievous bodily harm on the women but changed his plea to guilty in January.

He was jailed for eight years at Bristol Crown Court - plus four-and-a-half years on an extended licence.

The court heard Rodney did not regularly take medication that would have reduced his risk of infecting others.

He also failed to tell people he was HIV positive before sexual contact and in one case denied it when asked, instead claiming to have a different condition.

'Professional criminal'

Wiltshire Police launched an investigation in 2017 after one woman reported she had contracted the virus following unprotected sex with Rodney.

He insisted he had not engaged in sexual activity for years but detectives were able to prove otherwise, including evidence from two former partners who had contacted him in 2009 to tell him they had tested positive for HIV.

In December 2017, a sexual risk order was granted by Swindon Magistrates' Court to ban Rodney from having sex without telling the police beforehand.

The court heard he repeatedly breached this order and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Police also identified two women who had been in a relationship with Rodney in 2009 and tested positive for HIV that year.

Another woman, who has since died, was also diagnosed with HIV in 2011 following a sexual relationship with Rodney.

Det Ch Insp Helen Jacobs said the investigation had been "extremely complex" and involved working closely with Swindon Borough Council, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Public Health England.

She said: "Rodney is a professional criminal, who has always shown complete and utter disregard for the law.

"He has destroyed the lives of a number of women who will require treatment for the rest of their lives."

Ian Harris, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Rodney had shown "a complete and reckless disregard for his victims" and said it was an "exceptionally complex case to prosecute".