A predator convicted of deliberately infecting vulnerable sexual partners, including a 15-year-old boy, with HIV faces a life sentence with a minimum of 23 years behind bars. The court found him guilty on five counts of rape and seven counts of grievous bodily harm after he targeted younger men met in Newcastle bars or via the Grindr app.

Sentencing Details

Victims ranged in age from their late 20s to just 15. Judge Edward Bindloss labeled the offender “dangerous” and imposed a life term with a minimum of 23 years and 42 days. The 15-year-old schoolboy learned of his HIV-positive status in a phone call from a sexual health nurse right after stepping off his school bus.

Victims’ Harrowing Experiences

Two victims were only 17 and 18 years old. One man, experiencing his first same-sex encounter, described himself as “naive” at the time and later tested positive for HIV.

The now-adult former schoolboy recalled: “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.”

Another victim stated: “The whole thing is so unfair. He knew he was infected and 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 victim reflected: “I blame myself for letting the monster in.”

Offender’s Background and Denials

The perpetrator, active in Newcastle’s gay and chemsex scene, worked in bars and a Tyneside sex shop. He even attempted to launch an HIV charity. Diagnosed with HIV in 2010, he could have managed his viral load with treatment but ignored medical advice from 2016 onward, rendering him infectious.

Between 2016 and 2023, he engaged in unprotected sex with men, including rapes. He denied intent to transmit HIV, even claiming some victims desired infection. His defense counsel, Craig Hassall KC, noted that the offender told a probation officer: “He feels sick at the thought that he had transferred HIV to others” and maintained no deliberate action.

Prosecution and Police Insights

Senior prosecutor Amy Dixon emphasized: “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.”

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith described him as showing “absolutely no remorse.” She added: “He’s never apologised for his behaviour… He came across as quite arrogant, quite dismissive… He actually suggested that some of the victims wanted him to pass on HIV to them, which is absolutely not the case.” Witnesses reported him bragging that police efforts would fail.

Complex Investigation

The case demanded 35,000 officer hours, 450 statements, and testimony from 37 witnesses. Medical evidence linked victims’ HIV strains to his. Challenges included verifying sexual histories and proving knowledge of the 15-year-old’s age, leading to no underage sex charge.

Brought from remand prison, he refused to attend court. Judge Bindloss remarked: “Refusal to attend today is entirely in keeping with the indifference you have shown to the suffering of others.” He noted: “All were young men, all had their futures taken away, all deliberately because of you.”

Additional sentences covered drug dealing and refusing to disclose his phone PIN to police.