The man who purposefully spread HIV has officially been sentenced to jail for life.
27-year-old Daryll Rowe has become the first man in Scotland to be found guilty of intentionally spreading HIV after meeting men on the gay dating app Grindr, says Edinburgh News.
This past Wednesday, Rowe was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 12 years by the Birghton Crown Court.
At the sentencing, Judge Christine Henson QC said that Rowe’s crimes were a “determined hateful campaign of sly violence.”
“You are the first individual to be sentenced for Section 18 offences in the context of infecting others with HIV,” she continued.
“With the full knowledge of the risk you posed to others and the legal implications of engaging in risky sexual practices, you embarked on a deliberate campaign to infect other men with the HIV virus.”
“Unfortunately for five of the men you met, your campaign was successful.”
She didn’t stop there though, as the judge added: “They describe living with a life sentence as a result of your cruel and senseless acts.”
“Many of those men were young men in their 20s at the time they had the misfortune to meet you.”
She then closed by saying to Rowe, “You will potentially remain a danger to others for the rest of your life.”
Former hairdresser Daryll Rowe first hit our radars in September of last year when he was identified in the middle of his court battle.
Rowe had been diagnosed with HIV in April of 2015 and then started to meet men on Grindr to have sex with them. With each encounter, he insisted on having unprotected sex while claiming that he was HIV negative. If any of the men refused, he tampered with condoms.
After many of these encounters, Rowe would send taunting text messages saying things like, “I have HIV. Lol. Whoops!”
Eventually, Rowe was caught for his ongoing crimes and was put on trial. It was then that Rowe was charged with five counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and five counts of attempting to cause harm.
During the trial process, Rowe shared the belief that he had already been cured of HIV by drinking his own urine and taking natural remedies like oregano and coconut.
During the court hearings, the jury also heard many testimonies from the victims who all expressed great remorse and regret after meeting Daryll Rowe.
One victim shared a testimony saying, “Darryl has destroyed my life. I would rather he had murdered me than left me to live my life like this.”
That said, it was imperative to the court that the stigma around HIV not be enflamed by this case. Felicity Gerry QC noted how the virus is no longer the great danger it was in the 80s and 90s.
“This is not a terminal illness. Those who live with HIV have good and high life expectancies," she said.
Again, Daryll Rowe is now off to prison to serve at least 12 years but most likely a life sentence.
He’ll probably be
He'll probably be assassinated in prison in VERY short order…I HOPE!