Man Found Guilty of Rape and Deliberate HIV Infection
This article contains details some people may find distressing.
A man has been convicted of raping four men and deliberately infecting seven men, including one who was just 15 years old, with HIV.
Adam Hall, 43, from Washington near Sunderland, targeted young men he met online or at bars in Newcastle. He engaged in unprotected sex with them without disclosing his HIV-positive status, the city's crown court heard.
Hall was found guilty of raping four men and intentionally causing grievous bodily harm to them and three others.
Prosecutors described Hall as someone who set out to ruin lives. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
The court heard that Hall was diagnosed with HIV in August 2010. He was prescribed medication intended to keep the virus at undetectable, or non-infectious, levels.
'Knew What He Was Doing'
Prosecutors stated that Hall, who preferred to be "dominant" sexually, deliberately sought to harm the complainants between 2015 and 2023. He did so by not informing them of his diagnosis and knowingly having unprotected sex while not adhering to his medication regimen.
Hall claimed that his sexual preference had been "weaponised" against him and argued that HIV did not constitute serious harm.
Among the victims, none of whom can be identified, one was 15 years old when Hall infected him, while the others were in their late teens and early 20s, the court was told.
The trial lasted 97 days, beginning in November. Jurors deliberated for 42 hours and 51 minutes over nine days before reaching a combination of unanimous and majority verdicts on 15 counts.
At the trial opening, prosecutor Kama Melly KC said Hall sought out "young and vulnerable men" and "knew precisely what he was doing when he passed this virus on" to them.
Sentencing and Additional Charges
Sentencing was adjourned to 23 April. Judge Edward Bindloss stated he required a report to assess Hall's "dangerousness" before sentencing.
Hall will also face sentencing for drug dealing offences. The judge remarked that Hall faced "a very long sentence indeed."
Judge Bindloss thanked the jurors for their service, acknowledging the case as "extraordinarily complex and troubling," involving emotionally and intellectually challenging evidence. He commended their "clear care and attention" and excused each juror from future jury service.
Official Statements
Following the verdicts, Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith from Northumbria Police described Hall as a "callous calculating sexual predator."
Amy Dixon of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that Hall was "wholly aware" of the risks and it was "clear" he "fully intended to cause the harmful lifelong consequences that his victims now face."
She praised the victims for their bravery, noting that they only discovered their HIV-positive status after subsequent testing.
The CPS noted that more than 95% of people with HIV in the UK are on medication that keeps the virus at non-infectious levels. However, medical professionals were aware from 2016 that Hall had "not been adhering to his treatment."
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