A British man who deliberately tried to infect his partners with HIV has been found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Daryll Rowe will serve a minimum term of 12 years in jail.
The 27-year-old reportedly sabotaged the condoms he used and had unprotected sex with ten men. Rowe would "taunt" his partners afterwards with the fact that he was infected with the disease. Out of the ten men Rowe slept with, five of them contracted HIV.
A 'Risk' To Society
The trial began in October 2017, with Judge Christine Henson QC presiding. Witnesses came forward and spoke about their sexual encounters with Rowe and also described the text messages they received from Rowe.
One witness stated that Rowe said to him after they had sex the he hoped he'd "enjoy his cum inside of him" and that he "ripped" the condom. The witness claimed he believed the sexual intercourse was protected.
Another witness came forward and stated he received a text from Rowe that read: "Oops, I have HIV, Lol." Another man came forward with the hundreds of messages he received from Rowe in which the latter admitted he put the man at risk but then also denied it. Other witnesses stated that they were led to believe Rowe was using protection but Rowe either took the condom off or tampered with it.
After six months, Judge Henson declared Rowe to be a "risk" to society and stated that Rowe had a deliberate campaign to infect other men with the virus. Rowe was convicted of five counts of bodily harm with intent and five counts of attempted bodily harm.
Rowe's Story
Rowe, who was a hairdresser, is the first man in England to be charged with such a crime. Rowe was diagnosed with HIV in April 2015 but refused to seek treatment for it. The British citizen reportedly drank his own urine to try and cure himself of the disease.
"I never had in my mind before, during, or after any of the sex that I wanted to pass on HIV to anybody," Rowe stated.
Rowe is described as an AIDS denialist, a person who does not believe that HIV leads to AIDS and believes the treatment is a "pharmaceutical conspiracy."
