Man deliberately infected 15-year-old boy with HIV after meeting him on Grindr

A man described by prosecutors as a “dangerous offender” has been jailed for life after deliberately infecting multiple partners with HIV and committing a series of serious offences, including r@pe.

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Adam Hall, 43, from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years and 42 days. He was convicted of five counts of r@pe and seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm after infecting partners with HIV.

The court heard that Hall concealed his HIV status, failed to take medication to suppress his viral load, and engaged in unprotected s3x with victims he met in bars in the Newcastle area and on the dating app Grindr.

His victims ranged in age from their late twenties down to just 15. One victim, who was still a schoolboy at the time, learned he was HIV positive shortly after stepping off a school bus. He later said: “Everything shattered, everything went numb. I was mortified, not only at the situation, at myself. How has this happened to me, I felt like I was sinking.”

Two other victims were aged 17 and 18. Another man told the court: “The whole thing is so unfair, he knew he was infected, and he thought he could get away with infecting me, that he was immune from any consequences. He didn’t even give me the option to take any pre or post-HIV exposure treatment.”

Judge Edward Bindloss described Hall as “dangerous” and said his refusal to attend sentencing reflected “the indifference you have shown to the suffering of others.”

During the four-month trial, prosecutors argued that Hall had intentionally spread the virus between 2016 and 2023, despite being diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and having access to treatment that could have prevented transmission.

Hall denied the charges, claiming some of the victims had consented to infection. His defence counsel said he “feels sick at the thought that he had transferred HIV to others” and maintained that he did not act intentionally.

Senior prosecutor Amy Dixon said: “When we looked at all of that surrounding evidence in relation to his sexual activity with the victim-survivors, it was clear that he’d intended to pass on this virus. He hadn’t just been reckless.”

Public health officials have urged anyone who may have had s3x with Hall to seek testing. Alice Wiseman, director of public health in Newcastle, said: “The sooner that anyone is diagnosed, the better the treatment is. We want to eliminate HIV in the long term, the way to do that is for those who are infected to receive treatment as soon as possible.”

She added that with consistent treatment, individuals living with HIV can reduce their viral load to undetectable levels, meaning they are no longer infectious.

National AIDS Trust also issued a statement, saying: “The intention of transmitting HIV to any other person is completely condemned, and this kind of prosecution is extremely rare. It is important to recognise that HIV has changed considerably over recent years – the vast majority of people living with HIV are on medication, cannot pass the virus on, and expect a normal life expectancy.”

Detectives said the case involved extensive investigation, including tens of thousands of hours of work and dozens of witnesses, with complex medical evidence linking the strain of HIV in victims to Hall. Hall was also sentenced for drug-related offences and for failing to provide his PIN to police.