A 43-year-old man, Adam Hall, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for deliberately infecting seven people, including two teenagers, with HIV in Newcastle, United Kingdom.
The court handed Hall a minimum term of 23 years after finding that he intentionally targeted young and vulnerable men between 2016 and 2023.
Prosecutors said he used online platforms and bars to identify his victims, whom he later infected with the virus.
Hall, who is from Washington near Sunderland, was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm on seven victims. The court also found him guilty of raping four of them.
Prosecutor Kama Melly KC described his actions as a calculated and sustained effort to cause harm, stating that Hall carried out a “campaign” aimed at deliberately infecting his victims with HIV.
Evidence presented in court showed that Hall had been diagnosed with HIV in 2010 and had repeatedly been warned by health professionals about the risk of transmitting the virus.
He was said to be fully aware of the need to take medication to reduce his infectiousness and to disclose his status to sexual partners. However, he falsely claimed compliance while deliberately refusing treatment and exposing others.
The court heard that Hall specifically targeted vulnerable individuals and sought out high-risk encounters, with prosecutors arguing that his actions were driven by a desire to inflict harm.
They stressed that HIV is a lifelong condition requiring continuous treatment, adding that the impact on victims, particularly those subjected to sexual assault—was severe and enduring.
Victim impact statements detailed the emotional and psychological trauma suffered.
One victim, who was 18 at the time, said he had been “violated in the most horrific and dehumanising way,” adding that there are days he feels he is “just surviving, not living.”
Another victim said his life had been “irreversibly altered,” describing a sense of loss for the future he once envisioned.
A third victim told the court he had been “hurt in the most malicious way.”
Delivering judgment, Judge Edward Bindloss criticised Hall for failing to attend sentencing, saying it reflected a disregard for the suffering of his victims.
He said the victims had shared “sad and moving stories” and noted that their futures had been permanently affected by Hall’s actions.
The judge rejected Hall’s claim that HIV was not a serious injury, describing the virus as a permanent condition requiring lifelong treatment.
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He also found that Hall acted with clear premeditation, knowingly remaining infectious while deceiving his partners and denying them the opportunity to seek early medical intervention.
On the sexual offence charges, the court held that Hall acted with little regard for the wellbeing of his victims and showed no empathy.
Judge Bindloss concluded that Hall posed a high risk of serious harm to others.
Police authorities said more individuals have come forward since the conviction, with further investigations ongoing.