Jailed for passing HIV

A man who knowingly infected two women with the Aids virus was today convicted of grievous bodily harm.

Mohammed Dica, 37, callously tricked his lovers into unprotected sex even though he had been HIV positive since 1995. He faces up to 10 years in jail.

The historic verdict, the first of its kind in English law, was greeted with tears from his two victims who were in court. Doctors say the women may have only seven years to live and police suspect Dica may have conned many more.

The court heard that he told the first woman he had had a vasectomy and deceived his second victim with lies about starting a family.

Dica, a married father of three of Mitcham who is a refugee from Somalia, had denied the charges and told detectives that both women had known of his condition. But a jury at Inner London Crown Court took just over two hours to find him guilty of "biological" grievous bodily harm.

He will be sentenced next month by judge Nicholas Philpot who warned him he was likely to be "going to prison and for a long time".

During the trial the jury heard that Dica targeted vulnerable women, charming them with restaurant meals and empty boasts that he was a lawyer specialising in immigration and a Gulf War veteran fluent in 10 languages.

His first victim was a university graduate who worked for the United Nations. Dica claimed that she could have become infected through a blood transfusion, which she denied.

His second victim, known in court only as Deborah to protect her identity, is a mother of two from Surrey.

She told jurors as they left court today: "I thank you very much."

Hugged by her mother and father, who clambered over chairs in the public gallery to embrace her, she said: "There is justice after all. I am just so pleased it's over. Life is good, life is for me and my children from now on. I was weak before but now I am strong.

"He can no longer carry on wrecking lives with impunity."

Mark Gadsden, prosecuting, told the court "there is not a snowball's chance in hell" of any truth in Dica's claims that his victims knew he was carrying the virus when they slept with him.

Mr Gadsden told the jury that Dica was "criminally responsible for infecting these two women... coldly and callously".

He said that even though Dica himself would die from the virus, "he does not deserve your sympathy. "Detectives describe Dica as an arrogant man with no justification at all for his claims to be a lawyer or a company director.

Jeremy Carter-Manning, QC, defending, said there were "no direct precedents" for this case "litigated in this country before".

Dica's lawyers announced he would appeal.

Outside court Detective Sergeant Jo Goodall said: "I admire the courage of these two women for coming forward."

She added: "Today's verdicts mean that those who are not prepared to take responsibility for themselves and who continue recklessly to infect sexual partners with this fatal disease will in future face prosecution."