LEICESTER, United Kingdom – An HIV positive Zimbabwean asylum seeker who had unprotected sex with a minor without disclosure, knowingly exposing her to the virus, has been slapped with a 6-year jail sentence in the United Kingdom.
Cloud Chunga, 47, kept his status a secret from the 15-year-old girl, who skipped school to have intercourse with him after a hookup on social media, the Leicester Mercury newspaper reported.
Chunga will have to serve a minimum of two-thirds of the custodial term, before he could be considered for parole. He was placed on an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and will be on a sex offender register for life.
The sex offender, who’s of no fixed address in Leicester, pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child under 16, sexual activity with a child, meeting her following grooming and taking indecent photographs of the girl, at the end of last year.
Richard Thatcher, prosecuting, said the girl met the defendant in passing, but some time later he contacted her online to embark on sexualised private conversations via a social media site.
The prosecutor said: “The defendant told her he could not wait to have sex with her and until she was 18 so he could marry her.”
He told her she was “sexy” and “pretty” and sent her lewd pictures of himself.
They arranged to meet and the girl skipped school to see him in Leicester, still wearing her uniform.
He then took her to a flat in the Beaumont Leys area where they had unprotected sexual intercourse.
Afterwards, Chunga gave her Belgian chocolate biscuits and some perfume.
He also took photographs of her topless and of her in bed with him, which the police later found on his mobile phone.
Officers went to the victim’s home after being alerted about her unexplained absence from school and discovered what had happened.
Chunga was arrested in January and “disclosed that he was HIV positive,” said Mr Thatcher.
The victim was traumatized and unfairly “blamed herself.” She was then put through the trauma and anxiety of undergoing tests to see if she had contracted the virus.
In an impact statement readout, the girl was described feeling angry, ashamed, and embarrassed, with low self-confidence.
She endured several weeks of anxious waiting, before learning she had tested negative for HIV, but stated: “I can’t believe someone would be so selfish, that someone would risk giving that to someone else.”
Clare Dowse, mitigating, said: “He’s been in the UK since 2001, initially to study, and later applied as a refugee to remain in the country and his status is still unresolved.
“He was without a permanent residence at the time of the offences. He’d been staying with people he knew, relying on the church and friends for support. The offences were an aberration.”
Judge Robert Brown said: “The pre-sentence report says he struggles to understand how she is a victim, despite knowing she was a vulnerable child.
“He had unprotected sex with a 15-year-old girl knowing he was HIV positive, without divulging that to her and he presents a high risk of harm to young girls. It matters not at all that she appears to have consented to sexual activity, the point is that she was underage, vulnerable and you took advantage of her.”
Speaking after sentencing, investigating officer, Detective Constable Darren Etteridge, said: “Despite knowing the victim was 15-years-old, Chunga continued to groom and engage in sexual activity with her, exploiting her vulnerability.
“The wealth of evidence against him left him with little choice but to plead guilty and while this has relieved the victim of having to give evidence at court, her experience with Chunga still remains with her.
“Her engagement with us has been critical in bringing the case to a successful conclusion and she continues to be a very brave young girl who I hope can put what happened behind her.”