Adam Hall Jailed For Life After Deliberately Infecting Men And Boys With HIV

Adam Hall, 43, of Washington, Tyne and Wear, was jailed for life at Newcastle Crown Court after being found guilty of deliberately infecting men and boys with HIV and raping four of them.

“A man has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of 23 years by Newcastle Crown Court today (23 April) after deliberately infecting male victims with HIV”

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The BBC said Hall was handed a life sentence with a minimum jail term of 23 years, after the crown court heard he deliberately infected five young men and two boys aged 15 and 17 with HIV.

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ITV News reported Hall was jailed for at least 23 years, with Judge Edward Bindloss deeming him “dangerous” and setting a minimum term of 23 years and 42 days.

The Crown Prosecution Service said Hall was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 24 years, and that he was found guilty following a trial of deliberately transmitting HIV to seven men, four of whom he was found guilty of raping.

Prosecutors described a “campaign of rape” and a deliberate plan to “deliberately inflict HIV on the victims,” with prosecutor Kama Melly KC telling the sentencing hearing that Hall wanted to inflict “pain and harm” on “vulnerable” men.

The court heard Hall had been diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and, despite being warned about the risk he posed, he “chose” not to take medication and “deliberately targeted” men for “the riskiest sexual activity,” Melly said.

In sentencing remarks, Judge Bindloss told Hall: “Refusal to attend today is entirely in keeping with the indifference you have shown to the suffering of others,” and the judge also said Hall was “dangerous” and posed a “high risk of serious harm” to others.

The sentencing accounts tied Hall’s offending to a period between 2016 and 2023, with multiple outlets describing how he met victims in Newcastle-area bars or through the dating app Grindr.

The BBC said Hall targeted men “between 2016 and 2023,” and ITV News said Hall was convicted of five counts of rape and seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm by deliberately infecting younger partners with HIV after meeting them in bars in the Newcastle area or on Grindr.

BBC

The Chronicle Live report said Northumbria Police launched an investigation code-named “Operation Tay” after seven victims came forward, and it described detectives having to prove the victims could not have contracted HIV from anyone else.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the prosecution used “a wide range of evidence” including forensic evidence, medical records showing Hall had failed to comply with his medication regime, and evidence seized from his electronic devices showing he targeted young men for unprotected sex and lied about his HIV status.

The BBC said Hall was “well aware” of the need to take medication to keep him at non-infectious levels and to inform sexual partners of his HIV status, but that he falsely claimed he did both.

ITV News added that Hall “hid his HIV status from partners, failed to take medication to keep his viral load low, then had unprotected sex with men, sometimes raping them.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said Hall went on to have unprotected sex with his victims between November 2016 and May 2023, in several instances against their will, and in each case he failed to disclose his HIV status and his victims only found out after testing positive.

Victims’ impact statements, as reported by the BBC, ITV News, and the Manchester Evening News, described lasting trauma and lifelong consequences after Hall raped and infected them.

“Ruthless, lying and predatory, Adam Hall targeted vulnerable young men on Grindr to deliberately infect them with HIV”

Chronicle Live

The BBC quoted one man saying he was “violated in the most horrific and dehumanising way” and left with a trauma he carried every day, adding: “There are days when I feel like I am just surviving, not living.”

Another victim told the court his future had been “tarnished and altered irreversibly,” and the BBC reported Judge Bindloss said the men had been given a “permanent and irreversible” illness with a “lifelong dependence on medical treatment.”

ITV News described a 15-year-old victim who learned he was HIV positive in a phone call from a sexual health nurse moments after he stepped off a school bus, with the survivor saying: “Everything shattered, everything went numb.”

ITV News also included another survivor’s account that Hall “didn’t even give me the option to take any pre or post-HIV exposure treatment,” and a third victim saying: “I blame myself for letting the monster in.”

Detective Chief Inspector Emma Smith, as quoted by ITV News and the Guardian, said Hall had “shown absolutely no remorse” and that he “provided a prepared statement via his legal representative, and then no comment answers.”

ITV News reported Smith said Hall was “arrogant, quite dismissive,” and that he suggested “some of the victims wanted him to pass on HIV to them.”

Hall’s defence and the prosecution’s framing diverged in the accounts of intent and planning, with multiple outlets quoting how the case was presented in court.

The BBC said Hall continues to deny responsibility, with his barrister Craig Hassall KC telling the sentencing hearing that his client maintains his claim that “if” he was the source of the men’s HIV, he did not do it intentionally.

Manchester Evening News

The BBC also reported Hassall disputed the prosecution’s “campaign of rape” characterisation and said the sex attacks were “opportunistic” rather than planned.

ITV News similarly said Hall denied the charges, even claiming some of his victims wanted to be infected with HIV, and it quoted defending counsel Craig Hassall KC saying Hall told the probation officer “he feels sick at the thought that he had transferred HIV to others” while maintaining he did not do so intentionally.

The Chronicle Live account described the prosecution and detective narrative as “ruthless, lying and predatory,” and it quoted Det Chief Insp Emma Smith saying: “Like all sexual offences it was about power and control.”

The Manchester Evening News quoted Judge Bindloss telling Hall: “You targeted young men and deliberately infected them with HIV,” and it also quoted Kama Melly KC saying: “This was a campaign of rape and of deliberately inflicting HIV on the victims in this case.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said a crucial part of the case was working with victims to get evidence to demonstrate Hall’s intention to transmit the disease and to rule out any other potential sources.

The sentencing was accompanied by calls for more potential victims to come forward and by descriptions of how the investigation had already expanded.

“'Dangerous' predator who deliberately infected men with HIV jailed for life Adam Hall was found guilty of rape and inflicting GBH with intent A rapist who deliberately infected people with HIV has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years”

Manchester Evening News

The BBC said Northumbria Police reported that more suspected victims had come forward since Hall was convicted, with another investigation ongoing, and it quoted Det Ch Insp Emma Smith saying: “Anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Adam Hall, please do come forward.”

The Guardian

ITV News said the case was complex and involved 35,000 hours of officers’ time, including 450 statements and 37 witnesses who gave evidence, and it described how the case was further complicated by the difficulty of some medical evidence and exploring victims’ sexual history.

The Chronicle Live report said detectives had to trace and contact previous sexual partners and ask them to take blood tests, describing the investigation as “delicate” and “difficult.”

The Guardian said authorities believe there are more victims across England and encouraged them to come forward, and it quoted Alice Wiseman, director of public health for Newcastle and Gateshead, saying: “There is no judgment and your health and safety is our priority.”

The Crown Prosecution Service said it hoped “each of those impacted by Adam Hall’s actions can take some solace” from the evidence securing the custodial sentence.

The Mirror reported Hall had been placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and would be 67 before he could apply for parole, while also stating he spent 323 days on remand.