HIV infection jury watch video interview

AN ITALIAN chef accused of deliberately infecting his Edinburgh partner with HIV told police that he did not have the virus and always wore a condom when they had sex, a court heard yesterday.

Giovanni Mola, 38, is accused of passing HIV and hepatitis C to the woman, who cannot be identified, by refusing to wear a condom during intercourse.

At the High Court trial in Glasgow today, the jury was shown a video recording of Mola being interviewed by officers from Lothian and Borders Police in the presence of an interpreter.

When asked: "Do you have HIV?" Mola replied: "No, not as far as I know."

Mola told officers that he had attended a clinic in Edinburgh's Laurieston Place but the results for sexually transmitted diseases had always been negative.

The videotape, shown in court, dated from Mola's detention and eventual arrest in June 2004.

Questioned on whether he had always used condoms, Mola insisted he had always used them with the woman making the complaint, but had had unprotected sex with some previous partners.

He told officers in the interview: "I had condoms, I always had condoms."

Mola is accused of culpably and recklessly failing to tell the woman he carried the virus, and by having unprotected sex with the alleged victim. He was also charged with endangering her health and her life.

The court heard from the video footage that the couple first met in a shop and were involved in a sexual relationship between September 2003 and February 2004.

Mola maintained that during that period they had sex no more than ten times.