'He knew what he was doing' - Washington man found guilty of rape after deliberately infecting men with HIV

Adam Hall, 43, previously of the Donwell area of Washington, was today (March 5) found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of multiple charges related to the deliberate infection of seven men with HIV, four of whom he was found guilty of raping.

Hall was diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and, following this, healthcare professionals had repeatedly advised him about the importance of taking his medication, both for his own welfare and to prevent the transmission of the disease to sexual partners.

Over 95% of people diagnosed with HIV in the UK are on effective anti-retroviral medication, which reduces the amount of the virus in the blood to undetectable levels.

This requires taking prescribed medication daily, but in 2016 it became clear to medical professionals that Hall had not been adhering to his treatment and the level of HIV in his blood was detectable at levels where it would have been infectious.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that despite this, Hall went on to have unprotected sex with his victims between November 2016 and May 2023, in several instances against their will. In each case, he failed to disclose his HIV status and his victims only found out after subsequently testing positive for the disease themselves.

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After a trial, which started in November, Hall was today found guilty of five counts of rape, seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm, one count of controlling/coercive behaviour, one count of supplying a class B drug (GHB) and one count of failing to comply with an investigation – failed to provide passcode for mobile device.

Amy Dixon of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “From the point of his initial HIV diagnosis, Adam Hall was wholly aware of the risks to himself and others if he failed to adhere to his medical treatment. Despite this, he repeatedly pursued sexual activity with his victims without disclosing his HIV status.

“In some cases, Hall performed these sexual acts without the consent of the victims, applying verbal or physical force to get what he wanted.

“Hall provided one of his victims with the illegal drug GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) and there were times when he would black out and awake to Hall raping him.

“It is clear from his actions that Hall knew what he was doing and fully intended to cause the harmful lifelong consequences that his victims now face.

“We would like to praise the bravery of these men in coming forward to provide evidence and we hope that the conviction of Hall today provides some measure of justice for each of them.”