Cara Scott: David Golding gave me herpes so no one else would want me

By Andy Dolan

Last updated at 8:51 PM on 18th August 2011

Jailed: David Golding, 28, from Daventry, Northants, admitted grievous bodily harm

The man jailed for knowingly infecting his girlfriend with herpes did so to make sure that no one else would want her, his victim said yesterday.

Cara Scott accused former lover David Golding of leaving her with a 'life sentence' and described the knowledge that he had given her the disease as 'soul-destroying'.

The 24-year-old, from Daventry, Northamptonshire, said she hoped Golding's 14-month sentence would serve as a 'warning to others'.

Golding, 28, was jailed by a judge who told the Highways Agency worker he had committed a 'betrayal in a relationship in which you professed love'.

The court heard that Miss Scott became infected with the incurable sexually transmitted infection within a few months of the couple meeting, but that when she confronted Golding, he denied he was responsible.

Yesterday the former hairdresser, now going by the surname Lee, described her suffering in the two years since she caught the disease.

She added: 'I get angry and depressed when the herpes flares up. It's a disgusting reminder of him.

'But seeing him brought to justice has helped me move on. Jail is what he deserves.'

Miss Lee told how when she confronted Golding, he denied giving her herpes and suggested she may have been infected years earlier, as the virus can lie dormant for long periods.

'I didn't even want to look at him. But I couldn't leave – I was convinced I would never find anybody else'

She said Golding 'never seemed worried about catching it' from her and assured her that he didn't need testing 'as he wasn't showing any of the signs'.

The couple went ahead with plans to move in together because Miss Lee felt 'grateful' that Golding still wanted to be with her.

But her suspicions about where she had contracted the virus remained. Golding revealed the truth last year and admitted transmitting the infection to her.

Miss Lee said: 'I felt sick and was crying so much I couldn't breathe.

'He said he knew if I had it no one else would want me. I screamed, "How could you do that?"

'I didn't even want to look at him. But I couldn't leave – I was convinced I would never find anybody else.'

She told Closer magazine that Golding, from Braunston, near Daventry, was apologetic and promised he would look after her.

But the couple stopped sleeping together, and when they eventually split up, Miss Lee went to the police.

She has since had a baby with her new partner, Jonathan Clark, 29.

He said: 'When Cara told  me about the STI I wasn't put off – I loved her and wanted  to be with her.

We have to be careful, but it's something we deal with.'

Golding admitted grievous bodily harm and was sentenced at Northampton Crown Court last week.

The case – believed to be the first time a defendant has been convicted and jailed for passing on herpes – has been condemned by sexual health charities, which said the 'trivial' condition was being wrongly stigmatised.

Around 10 per cent of the population have genital herpes.

The condition causes painful red blisters and itching in the genital area and flu-like symptoms including fever, headache and tiredness.

It is caused by the same two types of the herpes simplex virus which are responsible for cold sores on the face and nose.

A sufficient quantity of the virus is needed on the skin to transmit it, and enough is usually only present during a flare-up.

But Miss Lee said she believes she was infected when her partner had no visible symptoms.

Nigel Scott, spokesman for the Herpes Viruses Association, compared the case to prosecuting children for 'giving their friends chicken pox'.

He called for a review of the Crown Prosecution Service's guidelines on 'intentional or reckless sexual transmission of infection' policy, which were consulted before the decision to prosecute was taken.

The guidelines state that grievous bodily harm can be caused when transmission of a sexual infection will have 'serious, perhaps life-threatening, consequences for the infected person's health'.

But Mr Scott argued that herpes is not serious or life-threatening.

View the original article here

David Golding who gave girlfriend Cara Scott herpes is JAILED for 14 months

By Andy Dolan

Last updated at 7:26 AM on 17th August 2011

Denial: David Golding initially said he wasn't responsible for Cara Scott contracting Herpes

A traffic officer who knowingly gave his girlfriend herpes has been jailed for 14 months.

David Golding, 28, kept quiet about the sexually transmitted infection when he began a relationship with 24-year-old Cara Scott two years ago.

Within two months she was diagnosed with the incurable condition and confronted him.

But Golding, who worked for the Highways Agency, denied he was responsible.

He only admitted the truth shortly before the relationship ended early last year.

Golding’s sentence after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm was yesterday attacked as ‘outrageous’ by sexual health charities, which said the ‘trivial’ condition was being wrongly stigmatised.

But Judge Michael Fowler said Golding’s initial refusal to admit passing on herpes ‘placed uncertainty in [Miss Scott’s] life and caused suspicions to be cast on to others’.

He added: ‘Because it was in a relationship, it was particularly mean and an offence which amounted to a betrayal – a betrayal in a relationship in which you professed love.

‘The injury you caused her by this infection is at least or more serious than an injury leaving a scar because it carries continued recurrence, extreme discomfort and consequences for relationships she will have in the future.’

Golding, from Braunston, Northamptonshire, caught the disease from a previous partner.

Trial: The unusual case was heard at Northampton Crown and County Court

Prosecutor Steven Evans told Northampton Crown Court that Miss Scott had become ill in September 2009.

He added: ‘Very quickly, she was diagnosed with genital herpes. It is a lifelong condition and it is incurable. On discovering this, she confronted the defendant but he denied he was responsible.

‘He told her he had been given the all-clear at the clinic when he had gone there for screening.

The couple parted in March 2010, when Miss Scott is said to have reported the infection to police.

Consequences: Judge Michael Fowler sentenced David Golding to 14 months at Northampton Crown Court

Golding’s parents, Janet, 64, and Christopher, 59, said they were shocked at the sentence.

Mrs Golding said: ‘This is David’s first offence and we are distraught at what might happen to him in jail. He’s a good son who did not deserve this.’

Her husband said that he found the sentence ‘difficult to understand’.

The virus which causes genital herpes could cause an outbreak or lie dormant for years, during which time it is not infectious. Many people remain unaware they are infected.

Those who do display symptoms usually suffer fever, headache and tiredness and small blisters and itching.

Nigel Scott, spokesman for the Herpes Viruses Association, said Golding’s sentence was ‘outrageous’ and compared the case to prosecuting children for ‘giving their friends chicken pox’.

He added: ‘It is such a trivial infection that most people don’t notice it. It has exactly the same medical implications and consequences as an ordinary facial cold sore.’

Marian Nicholson, director of the HVA, added: ‘Many of those who are diagnosed are reluctant to disclose their status but this is because of the unnecessary stigma, not because it is serious ... emphatically it is not.’

But a spokesman for the Crown Prosecution Service said the case was considered in line with its ‘intentional or reckless transmission of infection’ policy.

View the original article here