Darryl Rowe was found guilty of five counts of GBH and five counts of attempted GBH
A hairdresser found guilty of ‘deliberately infecting’ his Grindr dates with HIV was sentenced to life in prison today (18 April).
Daryll Rowe, 26, from Edinburgh was guilty of five counts of GBH and five counts of attempted GBH.
He infected at least five people after attempting to infect at least 10.
Rowe now must spend a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Pressured into bareback sex
Other victims allege Rowe pressured them into completely foregoing a condom and having bareback sex.
Following the encounters, Rowe sent the men crude text messages.
One text read: ‘Maybe you have the fever cos I came inside you and I have HIV, lol. Whoops!’
In another instance, he revealed his HIV status and admitted to the man he ripped the condom. He also called the victim ‘stupid’ for not knowing.
The incidents occurred from October 2015 to January 2016 in Brighton and the North East.
Rowe denied being HIV positive and insisted someone was framing him.
During the trial, Judge Christine Hensen granted the victims lifelong anonymity and gave them the option of testifying behind a screen.
A welcome verdict for ‘deliberately infecting’ men with HIV
Detective Inspector Andy Wolstenholme, of Sussex Police, said: ‘It will bring some closure to the victims who have been very strong and supportive through the investigation.’
He finished: ‘The victims have demonstrated real strength of character in speaking out about this, and because of this strength and the hard work of the detectives, staff and partners working on the case, a dangerous man, who betrayed the trust of many men, will now be imprisoned.’
Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust) said: ‘People living with HIV should not be avoided, feared or discriminated against, even when it comes to sex and dating.
‘Well over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK, and the vast majority of them cannot pass on the virus to others due to effective medication – this is something most people don’t realize, unfortunately.
‘The Rowe case is the first of its kind in the UK, and is an exceptionally rare thing to encounter. To intentionally transmit HIV is a deplorable crime, one could only commit by avoiding one’s own crucial treatment. Our thoughts are with the victims in this case.’
