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’s account. 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 “dreadful offense,” and Thomas was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

Thomas’s 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’s truthfulness, saying, “If she says I have done it, I have done it.” While awaiting the results of his HIV test, Hayton offered little sympathy, stating, “It’s his own fault. If he’d not committed this offense, he would not have placed himself in this position.” It remains unclear whether Thomas contracted the disease.