Man’s HIV conviction quashed by Supreme Court

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

An unnamed man’s conviction for causing serious harm by infecting two women with HIV was quashed by the Supreme Court on 14 December 2023.

The court found flaws in the trial judge’s directions to the jury on scientific and witness evidence, ruling that the evidence required greater care. The case concerned alleged infections between November 2009 and June 2010.

The Supreme Court said the prosecution case depended on circumstantial evidence and that the jury needed to consider whether there was a reasonable possibility the women could have been infected another way. The man had denied the charges.

The Director of Public Prosecutions was considering whether to seek a retrial, according to the report.