MICHAEL FIELDER OF NORTHWICH ESCAPES JAIL SENTENCE AFTER SEX WITH TEENAGER IN 2007

In July 2007, a disabled man from Northwich named Michael Fielder, who had engaged in sexual activity with a teenage boy without disclosing his HIV status, avoided imprisonment after an appeal in London's Court of Appeal.

Initially, Fielder, 52 years old at the time, was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, in February earlier that year. He had pleaded guilty to an act of gross indecency with the boy. However, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, later challenged the leniency of this sentence, calling for it to be increased due to its 'unduly lenient' nature.

Lord Goldsmith’s legal team argued that a suspended sentence was inappropriate given the circumstances where Fielder exploited a 15-year-old boy and failed to inform him that he was HIV-positive.

The teenage victim, who later came out as openly gay, agreed to engage in sexual acts with Fielder and subsequently tested HIV-positive. At one point, Fielder faced charges of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, alleging he infected the boy, but this charge was dismissed by the court. Fielder pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, asserting he was not responsible for the infection, as a condom had been used during the encounter.

The incident took place approximately seven years prior to the court hearing, when Fielder was operating a hotel in Blackpool. The court noted there was no coercion involved in the sexual act, and the teenager played a dominant role in the encounter.

At the time of the offence, the boy was just under 16 years old, and the crime predated the 2001 Sexual Offences Act, which lowered the age of homosexual consent from 18 to 16.

Lord Justice Latham, presiding alongside Mr Justice Royce and Mr Justice Ramsey, stated that a typical sentence for such an offence would be nine months in prison. Nonetheless, the court considered Fielder’s health condition—he was later described as partially quadriplegic—and the fact that the grievous bodily harm charge had lingered before being dismissed. Consequently, the court deemed a suspended sentence appropriate.

It is also noted that at the time of Fielder’s original trial, he managed the Sauna Sauna gay club at the former ICI Winnington site.