'We believe there are other victims': Detective confirms new inquiry underway after rapist with HIV jailed
Northumbria Police urge any potential victims to come forward
The detective who led the investigation into the conviction of rapist Adam Hall - who deliberately infected other men with HIV - has confirmed she fears there will be other potential victims and confirmed a live investigation is currently underway.
On March 5, Hall, 43, previously of the Donwell area of Washington, was 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 today (April 23) returned to the same court where he was sentenced to life in prison and must serve a minimum of 23 years and 42 days.
However Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith believes there are other men who may have been deliberately infected by Hall and has urged them to come forward.
DCI Smith said: “Our investigation showed Hall had a history of targeting vulnerable young men.
“He was prolific online in trying to arrange hook-ups and was believed to be involved in chemi-sex activity.
“Through our extensive investigations, we believe there are a number of men who will be victims of Hall who are yet to be identified.”
DCI Smith confirmed Hall met his victims using online dating apps such as Grindr, which has added to the difficulty of tracking down people who may be at risk of having been infected.
She added: “With online dating apps you don’t have to verify or use your own identity so it’s really challenging for us to identify people, but we do believe there are other men he has had sexual contact with
“We are also concerned victims may not wish to come forward over fears of any stigma associated with this type of offence, but we’d encourage anyone who feels they may have been a victim of a criminal offence involving Hall to come forward to us.
“In relation to their health, they may have concerns and we would encourage them to seek support and advice from their own sexual health services.”
DCI Smith is also concerned about the geographical area Hall operated in.
She added: “We also know Hall travelled extensively across England to hook up with other men, including County Durham, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Manchester, and London.
“Having his photograph out in the public domain may assist in helping people to identify if they may have been a victim.”
DCI Smith also confirmed a number of people have already come forward.
She added: “We do actually have a live investigation currently and there are a number of potential victims who’ve come forward to us since Hall was first charged.
“We are actively investigating these further reports and so anyone else who feels they have been the victim of a criminal offence, we would encourage them to come forward.”
DCI Smith also confirmed Hall was “trying to set-up an HIV charity” which he used as part of his defence in court.
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.
However, Hall knew at various points he had transmittable levels of the virus in his system and intentionally had unprotected sex.
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.
Anyone concerned they may have been a victim of Adam Hall can contact Northumbria Police by calling 101 or using the dedicated online portal.