A teenager has described the moment he discovered he was HIV positive after being deliberately infected by a rapist predator. Sex shop worker Adam Hall, 43, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, was today sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 23 years.
Court describes Hall as a 'monster'
Described in court as a 'monster', Hall deliberately passed on the disease to vulnerable and inexperienced sexual partners, including five men and two boys aged just 15 and 17. Hall hid his HIV status from partners, failed to take medication to keep his viral load low, then had unprotected sex with men, sometimes raping them.
Victim's account
One of his victims has spoken about the moment 'everything went numb' when he was diagnosed with HIV aged just 15. The victim, who is now an adult and remains anonymous, said he received the devastating call when he was on his way home from school. He said: 'I had just gotten off the school bus and I was walking home and my phone started ringing. When I picked it up it was a sexual health nurse, she explained that my results had come back and I was HIV positive. 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.'
Sentencing
Adam Hall, 43, of Washington, Tyne and Wear has been sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 23 years and 42 days. In court, Hall denied the charges against him and even claimed that some of his victims wanted to be infected with HIV. Hall was convicted of five counts of rape and seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm - by deliberately infecting partners with HIV - after meeting them in bars in the Newcastle area or on the dating app Grindr, following a four-month trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Offences and victims
The offences relate to seven victim-survivors, between 2016 and 2023. His victims were aged from 15 to their late 20s, with the youngest finding out he had contracted HIV in a phone call from health professionals moments after he stepped off a school bus. Hall had denied the offences, but on Thursday, March 5, following a four-month-long trial, he was finally found guilty.
Police investigation
Police said the investigation into Adam Hall was complex, taking an estimated 35,000 hours of officer time. As part of the operation, 450 statements were taken, 1,600 documents were generated, 670 exhibits were recorded and evidence was heard from 37 witnesses during the trial. 819 actions were generated and dealt with by officers during the course of their enquiries.
Trial details
During the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the jury was told that if the HIV virus is undetectable in a person’s system it is untransmittable. However, Hall knew at various points he had transmittable levels of the virus in his system and intentionally had unprotected sex – and in the majority of these cases raped the victim-survivors.
The victim told the BBC: 'I was angry and I couldn't comprehend why someone could do this to harm someone. I just felt like I had my rights stripped away. There is a lot of people who just think that it is a death sentence. A lot of people still judge me as dirty, unclean, that you sleep around all the time, those types of comments. It is a really hurtful process from start to finish.'
Legal consequences
He becomes only the second person in the UK to be convicted of the intentional transmission of HIV and will also be on the Sex Offenders' Register for life. Sentencing Hall, who was known on the Newcastle chem sex scene, Judge Edward Bindloss described him as 'dangerous'.
Background
Prior to his conviction, Hall had worked in bars and at a Tyneside sex shop, and had even tried to set up a charity for people with HIV. A second victim said: '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.' A third added: 'I blame myself for letting the monster in.'
Geographic reach
Detectives found that the predator was active on the gay scene in Newcastle but travelled to see men he met on the dating app Grindr across the North East, including County Durham and Middlesbrough, as well as North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Manchester and London. He was first diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and was repeatedly advised of the importance of taking his medication, the court heard. By 2016, health professionals had become concerned that Hall was not adhering to his treatment, making him infectious to others he slept with. But he went on to have unprotected sex with other men between November 2016 and May 2023, with all of his victims only discovering his status after being diagnosed with HIV themselves.
Defence
Craig Hassall KC, defending, said Hall told the probation officer who compiled a pre-sentence report 'he feels sick at the thought that he had transferred HIV to others'. He added: 'He maintains he did not do so intentionally.' Hall was also convicted of count of coercive and controlling behaviour, supplying the controlled drug GBH and failing to comply with a police investigation after refusing to provide the password to his phone.
Public health warning
Health officials are urging anyone across the country who may have had sex with Adam Hall to get themselves checked for HIV. Newcastle director of public health Professor Alice Wiseman urged people who have had sex with Hall to access confidential health services in their area. She 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. The earlier you are diagnosed, the sooner you can have anti-retroviral therapy, and if you are consistent with your treatment, you can reduce your viral load so you are no longer infectious to those around you.' A warning has been issued to other public health directors around the country about Hall's offending and the potential for there to be more victims whom he deliberately infected.
Police statement
Speaking after Hall's sentencing hearing, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith, of Northumbria Police, said: 'Adam Hall has now been sentenced to life imprisonment for his abhorrent offending. We remain exceptionally grateful to the victim-survivors who came forward to report Hall's crimes and who have bravely supported our investigation. It is because of them that this sexual predator is now behind bars and will be closely monitored for the rest of his life. I hope the outcome today can provide some sort of closure for them and allow them to move forward with their lives – if that is at all possible.' She added: 'We can confirm we have an ongoing investigation into further reports made in relation to Adam Hall. Our priority firmly remains supporting anyone who has been impacted by Hall's actions in whatever way we can. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of a criminal offence is encouraged to come forward to ourselves. We have set-up a dedicated webpage for people to contact us, which can be accessed by visiting our website. We would further encourage anyone who may have health concerns to seek advice and support from your local sexual health services. There are safe places where you can access a broad range of services. We want people to know this is available confidentially and independently of the police.'
Crown Prosecution Service
Amy Dixon, Senior Crown Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Adam Hall deliberately transmitted HIV to the victim-survivors in this case, some of whom he also raped. We wanted to ensure that he was prosecuted and that his sentence appropriately reflected the severity of his crimes. A crucial part of this was working with victims to get the evidence we needed to demonstrate that it was Hall's intention to transmit the disease and to rule out any other potential sources of the disease. I would like to extend my thanks to Northumbria Police for their excellent work on what has been a highly complex investigation. Above all, I would like to praise the bravery and dignity shown by the victim-survivors and witnesses in this case. I hope that each of those impacted by Adam Hall's actions can take some solace in knowing that their evidence has played a key part in securing this significant custodial sentence against him today.'
