Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in September 2013.<\/p>\n
A British man convicted of raping a sleeping woman was notified that he may have contracted HIV from his victim.<\/p>\n
Richard Thomas, 27, was sentenced to five years and four months in prison for raping a woman in her home while she slept, according to the BBC. Thomas said he knew the woman was ill but did not know it could be HIV. He reportedly collapsed when told the newsThomas said he had been drinking heavily on the night of the attack, as well as using cocaine and ecstasy at various points during the evening. He said he could not recall much from the attack but believed the woman\u2019s story.<\/p>\n
Police say Thomas let himself into the woman\u2019s home uninvited and went into the bedroom where he then assaulted her as she slept. The woman had taken a sleeping tablet and awoke to find Thomas raping her.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe froze and no words were exchanged,\u201d said prosecutor Harry Pepper. \u201cHe pulled up his shorts and left.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawyer for Thomas, Virginia Hayton, said that Thomas was unsure of the events of the night but told her the woman \u201cwould not lie, she tells the truth. If she says I have done it, I have done it,\u201d according to The Telegraph. It was not immediately clear whether Thomas knew his victim before the assault.<\/p>\n
Judge Mark Brown presiding over the case ordered that Thomas be sentenced to five years and four months, as well as giving him a permanent listing on the Sex Offenders Register for the \u201cdreadful offense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hayton described Thomas as agonizing over the night\u2019s events. Thomas has previous convictions but none for sexual assault or rape.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Thomas] is remorseful and cannot understand why he did it and it is troubling him,\u201d Hayton said. She also noted that Thomas has a long history with drugs and alcohol, having started to use cannabis at age 9 and then drinking by 11. Thomas also said he was addicted to cocaine and ecstasy at 13 and received treatment for the addictions during his teenage years.<\/p>\n
Thomas was set to find out the results of the HIV test shortly after being notified of the possibility. It was not clear if Thomas contracted the disease.<\/p>\n
Hayton offered little condolences to Thomas in the meantime.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis [HIV test] has been hanging over his head,\u201d she said, according to the Mirror. \u201cIt\u2019s his own fault. If he\u2019d not committed this offense he would not have placed himself in this position.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in September 2013. A British man convicted of raping a sleeping woman was notified that he… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29431,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n