Man tried to give police officer Hepatitis C by forcing bleeding hand in mouth (original) (raw)
A man deliberately tried to infect a police officer with Hepatitis C by forcing his bleeding hand into the officer's mouth, a court has heard. The male officer could taste Shea Holleywell's blood in his mouth and did his best to spit it out but then had to endure three months of worry and repeated tests to see if he contracted the disease.
Sending the defendant to prison for five years and three months a judge at Swansea Crown Court told him his actions had been "disgusting" and had had a very significant impact on the victim. The court heard that at the time of assault the police officer's partner had been heavily pregnant and the officer did not know if he would be able to kiss his new-born baby as it was not known if he had contracted Hepatitis C.
Craig Jones, prosecuting, said on the evening of July 3 this year police responded to reports of a disturbance and an assault on a woman in Aberystwyth town centre. Police found the defendant, who was bleeding from a wound on his hand, on Great Darkgate Street - the 27-year-old was shouting and swearing and claiming to be the victim of a robbery. The court heard police community support officers spoke to Holleywell to try to calm him down but his agitated behaviour continued. The defendant then said he had Hepatitis C and held up his bleeding hand to show the officers, adding he "likes to grab people who grab him".
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As Holleywell started to walk away a PC took him by the arm and a violent struggle ensued with the defendant putting his bloodied hand into the face and mouth of the officer. The prosecutor said the officer could taste blood in his mouth and did his best to spit out as much of it as he could. Holleywell was taken to the ground where he hit out another officer leaving a smear of blood on her cheek. The defendant was eventually restrained and arrested. The court heard that at that point the defendant's partner - the woman he had earlier assaulted and then claimed had robbed him - arrived on the scene. The "clearly intoxicated" woman was aggressive and abusive towards officers.
The court heard details of a statement from the police officer who Holleywell attacked in which he set out the emotional impact of the incident. He said for months he had to live with not knowing whether he had contracted the life-long condition Hepatitis C and the "lingering sense of dread" it brought. He said at the time of the incident his wife was heavily pregnant and he didn't know if he would be able to kiss his new-born baby, and he said living with the uncertainty had ruined what should have been a special period in his life. The court heard it took three months of regular blood testing before the officer was given the all clear. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
Shea Holleywell, of no fixed abode, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, assaulting an emergency worker, and battery in relation to his partner when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has convictions for five previous assaults on police officers in 2022 and 2023. Emily Bennett, for Holleywell, said since the defendant's remand into custody in July he had reflected upon his behaviour and wished to apologise to the officers. She said her client had been working in the Cabot Circus shopping centre in Bristol until 2018 but after losing his job developed anxiety and depression and found himself homeless. She said Holleywell's life went on a "downward spiral" and he had been sleeping rough for the 18 months where he "engaged with other homeless people who provided him with illicit substances". The barrister said in May this year her client was diagnosed with Hepatitis C.
Judge Paul Hobson told Holleywell that putting his bleeding hand into the officer's mouth had been a "disgusting" act which had had a very significant impact on the victim, and he said that by the defendant's guilty plea he had accepted that he had intended to cause the police officer really serious harm. The judge said in recent times the defendant's behaviour in the community had been "out of control". With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea to GBH Holleywell was sentenced to five years and three months in prison. He was sentenced to nine months for assaulting the female police officer and to two months for assaulting his partner to run concurrently with the lead sentence. The defendant will serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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