A ZIMBABWEAN circus acrobat found guilty of intending to transmit HIV to his girlfriend has been sentenced to 9 and a half years in jail followed by deportation.
Godfrey Zaburoni admitted he had infected his former Gold Coast girlfriend with HIV during their two-year relationship, but denied he intentionally gave her the virus.
But, after a four-day trial, a Southport District Court jury took just over two hours to convict him of an act intended to transmit a serious disease.
It was only the second time in Queensland a jury had convicted a person on the charge and the first time for a case involving a man and a woman.
Zaburoni arrived in Australia in 1997 and became known for touring Australia in circus troupes and performing on Australia’s Got Talent.
The now 34-year-old was diagnosed with HIV in 1998 but hid his condition from his girlfriend, doctors and immigration officials. He only confided in his best friend, who later helped him fake a blood test for a visa.
He told police he was ignorant about HIV and hoped it would “go away”. Zaburoni repeatedly told his girlfriend he was HIV negative until she was diagnosed in 2009 and confronted him.
Yesterday the Gold Coast woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, gasped and broke down in tears as the jury returned the guilty verdict.
In an emotional statement to the court the heavily pregnant woman said she would pay for his betrayal for the rest of her life: “I can’t tell you how often I felt I was living in a sick, crazed nightmare. His lying, cheating and total lack of morals were unfathomable. I still struggle to understand his actions.”
She told the court her husband and toddler son, both HIV-negative, had suffered judgment and heartache as a result of her condition. The family still faces an agonising wait to find out if their unborn child will have HIV as conclusive tests cannot be done until the child is 18-months-old. The mother must take anti-retroviral drugs three times a day for the rest of her life.
Outside court Barrister John McInnes said an appeal would be considered and said: “Watch this space”.
In 2006 a Queensland man was sentenced to 10½ years for intending to give his male partner HIV. A subsequent appeal was dismissed.