HIV man jailed for biting stranger

A waiter infected with the HIV virus has been jailed for two years at the Old Bailey for biting a woman on the dance floor of a Soho night club.

His victim, a stranger who had travelled to London from Wigan for a weekend out, suffered a "living hell" for three months until tests proved she had not been infected with the potentially fatal virus.

The court heard that Alexandra Keegan, 38, had been dancing in the Shadow Lounge club in Brewer Street in January when she was aware of a man dancing "aggressively" around her.

Janet Weekes, prosecuting, said the man, Vito Calabrese, 24, grabbed her hat in a scuffle but disappeared after she grabbed it back. He then reappeared, caught her around the waist and sank his teeth into her thigh for 30 seconds as she screamed in agony.

Calabrese, of Finsbury Park, pleaded guilty to wounding. He was told by Judge David Paget: "As a sufferer from HIV and without provocation, you bit a woman who was a complete stranger.

"It is a totally bizarre offence and the only explanation you gave was that you were under the influence of drink or drugs.

"The anxiety suffered by that woman must have been truly terrifying. I accept the medical evidence that the chance of catching HIV from a bite is remote but the seriousness of the offence is not the bite but the terrible psychological damage you did to her."