A United Kingdom court has sentenced a man described as “dangerous” to life imprisonment after finding he deliberately infected multiple victims with HIV in a prolonged pattern of abuse.
Adam Hall, 43, was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of inflicting grievous bodily harm on seven victims—five young men and two boys aged 15 and 17—four of whom he raped.
The offences, carried out between 2016 and 2023, were described by prosecutors as calculated and predatory.
According to the prosecution, Hall specifically targeted “vulnerable” men he encountered online and in bars, driven by what was described as a desire to inflict “pain and harm.”
He had also carried out a “campaign of rape” to “deliberately inflict HIV on the victims.”
The court heard that since his HIV diagnosis in 2010, medical professionals had been “gravely concerned” about Hall’s behaviour and repeatedly warned him about the risks he posed.
He was “well aware” of the need to take medication to remain non-infectious and to disclose his status to sexual partners, but instead falsely claimed compliance.
In reality, he “chose” not to take medication and “deliberately targeted” men who were “vulnerable” for the “riskiest sexual activity,” the prosecution said, adding that his “real sexual interest” lay in inflicting “pain and harm” through aggressive and dominant behaviour.
Despite advances in treatment, the court was told that HIV remains a “lifelong irreversible condition” with “significant health risks” requiring ongoing care.
For the victims, prosecutors said, the trauma is compounded by daily reminders of the abuse each time they take medication.
Victim impact statements detailed the lasting emotional and physical toll. One man, who was 18 at the time, said he had been “violated in the most horrific and dehumanising way” and now lives with trauma every day.
“I feel disgusted, ashamed and completely alone,” he said. “There are days when I feel like I am just surviving, not living.”
Another victim told the court he had been a “very carefree 17-year-old” before his life was “tarnished and altered irreversibly” after trusting Hall.
“There is a massive hole in my heart for the life I might have lived,” he said, adding that he felt he had “betrayed” his younger self. He described Hall as a predator who had “deceived” him.
A third victim said he had been “hurt most maliciously.”
Sentencing the accused, Judge Edward Bindloss condemned Hall’s actions, noting that his refusal to attend the hearing was “entirely in keeping with the indifference” he had shown “to the suffering of others.”
He said the victims shared “sad and moving stories,” adding: “They have all had their futures taken away, all deliberately because of [Hall].”
Rejecting claims made during trial that HIV was not a serious injury, the judge said the victims now face a “permanent and irreversible” illness with a “lifelong dependence on medical treatment.”
He further noted that Hall had been “fully and repeatedly” warned about the risks, yet chose to remain “transmissible” while deceiving partners, demonstrating a “significant degree of premeditation.”
Hall also failed to disclose his status even after sexual encounters, denying victims the opportunity to seek early treatment, the court heard.
In relation to the rapes, the judge said Hall acted “selfishly with little empathy and no interest” in the well-being of his victims, describing him as a “dangerous” offender posing a “high risk of serious harm.”
Hall continues to deny responsibility. His defence argued that “if” he was the source of the infections, it was not intentional, and challenged the prosecution’s characterisation of events, describing the offences as “opportunistic” rather than planned.
In addition to the sexual offences, Hall was convicted of drug-related crimes, including supplying substances to one victim before assaulting him.
He will serve a minimum term of 23 years and 42 days, with time already spent in custody taken into account.
