An Italian chef who handed his lover a “death sentence” when he recklessly infected her with HIV and hepatitis C was jailed for nine years yesterday.

The sentence was criticised by the National Aids Trust, which said that the case could undermine efforts to stop the spread of HIV.

Giovanni Mola, 38, who claimed to have had 200 lovers, refused to wear condoms after starting a relationship with the woman in Edinburgh in 2003. He had been found to have the viruses three years earlier but did not tell his new partner, who said she was a virgin.

Judge Lord Hodge told Mola at the High Court in Glasgow: “What you did to Miss X was chillingly callous and showed utter indifference to her welfare.”

His victim, who cannot be identified, said she felt that she had been given a death sentence by Mola when she had the viruses diagnosed.

Lord Hodge said: “She will have to take drugs with serious and debilitating side-effects and may face hospitalisation. She may well face an early death.”

The relationship between Mola and the woman began after they met in a shop. They had sex nine or ten times between September 2003 and February 2004 but he wore protection only on the first and last occasions.

His victim told the trial that he had “aggressively” refused to wear a condom the other times. She broke down after being told that she had tested positive at a clinic in Edinburgh for HIV and hepatitis C in March 2004.

The woman said: “I just thought I’d been given a death sentence there and then.”

Mola was later arrested but then fled to Italy. He was extradited last summer.

He was convicted of culpably and recklessly failing to tell his partner that he carried the infection and endangering her health and life by having unprotected sex with her.

Mola, who has previous convictions for dishonesty, including theft and extortion, has been recommended for deportation at the end of his sentence.

Aids charities criticised the prosecution and the nine-year sentence given to Mola. Debo-rah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said: “The National Aids Trust does not condone Giovanni Mola’s actions in recklessly transmitting HIV to Miss X and strongly advises all people living with HIV to protect sexual partners from infection. However, it is important to understand that prosecuting people for reckless transmission of HIV is actually undermining efforts to stop the spread of HIV.

“Stigma and discrimination around HIV is increasing as people living with HIV are cast as criminals, making it even more difficult for them to tell other people. We are particularly concerned at the severity of the sentence. Sending Giovanni Mola to prison is not the way to deal with the HIV epidemic in Scotland and is likely to only make it worse.”

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