British Man Sentenced To Life For Intentionally Transmitting HIV

Darryll Rowe, the 27-year-old British hairdresser found guilty of intentionally transmitting HIV to at least five sexual partners has been sentenced to life in prison. Rowe was accused of tampering with the condoms and reportedly taunted his sexual partners afterwards on Grindr.

Rowe had reportedly requested a more lenient punishment claiming the disease was no longer terminal and that those diagnosed had "good and high life expectancy."  His lawyers asked the judge to pass a sentence that would not add to the "social stigma" of HIV "but inform the public the virus is not what it was in the past."

The judge, Christine Henson, told Rowe that the he intentionally transmitted the virus “with the full knowledge of the risk you posed to others” in a “deliberate campaign to infect other men” with HIV. 

"You are the first individual to be sentenced for Section 18 offenses in the context of infecting others with HIV," Henson said to Rowe. 

Section 18 of British law refers to the intention of "grievous bodily harm to any person."

According to Deborah Gold, CEO of the U.K. charity National AIDS Trust, this is "the first time someone has been convicted of intentional HIV transmission in England."