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The lawyers who defended Daryll Rowe, jailed for deliberately infecting men with HIV, should be ashamed

Afterwards, Rowe sent these men a series of gloating text messages, including the ominous line ‘I got you’

Janet Street-Porter
Friday 20 April 2018 15:35 BST
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 Imagine the horror these poor men lived through in court, only to have a smart QC claim their lives were going to carry on as before, belittling their situation
Imagine the horror these poor men lived through in court, only to have a smart QC claim their lives were going to carry on as before, belittling their situation

Daryll Rowe is a monster whose actions have harmed dozens of people and changed their lives irreparably. The former hairdresser from Brighton is the first person in the UK to be convicted of deliberately infecting his victims with HIV, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment this week.

Sadly, a life sentence in England means he could be eligible for parole after 12 years. Rowe lied about being HIV-positive and refused treatment when diagnosed in 2015. He targeted his 10 victims through the gay dating app Grindr, and when they refused to have unprotected sex with him, he cut holes in condoms, rendering them useless.

Afterwards, Rowe sent these men a series of gloating text messages, including the ominous line “I got you”.

The reckless transmission of HIV carries a maximum sentence of five years for each person affected by the carrier, but intentional or malicious transmission – as was proved in this case – carries a maximum life sentence.

Rowe is evil, but the arguments advanced by his defence team give cause for concern. Felicity Gerry QC claimed that HIV was “not a terminal illness”, stating: “Those that live with HIV have good and high life expectancies. There is a need for therapy and not incarceration.”

Sussex Police: Daryll Rowe life sentence for infecting men with HIV is reflective of scale of crime

Treatment has come a long way since the 1980s and combination therapy keeps the virus at bay, but it’s not a cure. The virus changes the carrier’s life, and impacts on future sexual relationships.

Rowe’s victims opted for safe sex and were cheated – they told the judge they “did everything” to avoid catching the disease. Imagine the horror these poor men lived through in court, only to have a smart QC claim their lives were going to carry on as before, belittling their situation.

Rowe was a violent criminal, intentionally harming innocent people. We need to destigmatise HIV and make it possible for victims to feel they can be open about their situation, because sadly that day has not yet come.

HIV isn’t going away, and a clear message needs to be sent to people who insist on casual unprotected sex: they are endangering their partners and risk prosecution. The lawyers defending Rowe should feel ashamed.

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