A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years for deliberately infecting sexual partners with HIV and raping some of his victims. Adam Hall, 43, from Washington, Tyne and Wear, was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court on Thursday after being convicted in March of seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm and five counts of rape.
Hall became only the second person in the UK to be convicted of intentional transmission of HIV. He targeted younger men, some as young as 15, meeting them in bars in the Newcastle area or via the dating app Grindr. One victim, a schoolboy, learned he had contracted HIV in a phone call from health professionals moments after stepping off a school bus.
Hall was diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and was prescribed medication to suppress the virus. However, from 2016, medical professionals noted he was not adhering to his treatment, rendering him infectious. Despite warnings, he had unprotected sex with multiple men between 2016 and 2023, in some cases using physical force to rape them. He failed to disclose his HIV status, and his victims only discovered they were infected after being tested themselves.
Judge Edward Bindloss described Hall as “dangerous” before imposing the life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years and 42 days. The Crown Prosecution Service praised the bravery of the victims. Amy Dixon of the CPS said: “Hall knew what he was doing and fully intended to cause the harmful lifelong consequences that his victims now face.”
Detectives are appealing for other potential victims to come forward, as Hall travelled to various parts of the country, including County Durham, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Manchester, and London, to meet men. Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith urged anyone with health concerns to seek advice from local sexual health services.
