This story, originally reported in September 2013, recounts the case of Richard Thomas, a 27-year-old British man sentenced to five years and four months in prison for assaulting a sleeping woman in her home. Thomas, who was heavily intoxicated and under the influence of drugs during the incident, claimed he could not remember the events but believed the victim\u2019s account.<\/p>\n
The woman, who had taken a sleeping tablet, awoke to find Thomas attacking her. He fled the scene when she woke. Thomas later learned the woman was HIV-positive, a revelation that caused him to collapse upon hearing the news. Judge Mark Brown sentenced him for the \u201cdreadful offense,\u201d and Thomas was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s lawyer, Virginia Hayton, described his remorse and confusion over his actions, noting his long history of substance abuse, which began in childhood. She emphasized that Thomas acknowledged his victim\u2019s truthfulness, saying, \u201cIf she says I have done it, I have done it.\u201d<\/p>\n
While awaiting the results of his HIV test, Hayton offered little sympathy, stating, \u201cIt\u2019s his own fault. If he\u2019d not committed this offense, he would not have placed himself in this position.\u201d It remains unclear whether Thomas contracted the disease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This story, originally reported in September 2013, recounts the case of Richard Thomas, a 27-year-old British man sentenced to five years and four months in prison for… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n