‘Predatory’ hairdresser jailed after spreading HIV virus
●At least 14 victims in Scotland deliberately exposed to infection
A “devious” hairdresser who attempted to deliberately infect four men with HIV has been jailed for eight years in Scotland.
Daryll Rowe, 27, intentionally had unprotected sex with partners knowing he had the virus and was exposing them to the risk of infection.
At least two dozen men were exposed to the disease as a result of the “utter callousness” of Rowe’s actions.
One of the men went on to contract HIV.
Police admit they fear Rowe may have had many more victims. They are aware of at least 14 in Scotland stretching between Edinburgh, Fife, Musselburgh and Glasgow.
They are now braced to hear if anymore men come forward now that Rowe’s identity has been revealed following yesterday’s verdict at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Judge Lady Scott said Rowe had “grossly breached the trust” of the men involved as she praised the victim who contracted the virus for showing “considerable dignity”.
Rowe is already serving a life sentence with a minimum of 12 years for similar offences in England.
There he infected five men he had sex with and sabotaged condoms with another
five in the English case. The High Court heard that Rowe became infected in early 2015. But knowing his condition, he met his first victim through the dating website Grindr in June 2015 and had unprotected sex. He was later told Rowe was HIV positive, but he tested negative.
Rowe met a second man through the site in July and they exchanged messages with the intention of meeting up to have sex later that day.
The unsuspecting man went to Rowe’s then address in Stenhouse Avenue West, in west Edinburgh, and was assured by him that he would use a condom.
After sex his victim noticed that a condom was on the bed out of the wrapper and he asked Rowe if he had worn it. Rowe told him that he had and accused him of being paranoid.
The man later tested positive for the virus. His victim, in an interview with website Buzzfeed, said: “I got an uneasy feeling from him, but I thought I’d just go ahead.
“His flat was very squalid. I had the impression he’s someone who’s very lost and damaged.”
Days later Rowe sent him a message telling him he did not wear a condom.
The victim went for a checkup where his worst fears were confirmed. He has since had anti-retroviral therapy and said: “They were very sympathetic.”
The clinic he went to asked him to share Rowe’s details and they contacted police, who launched the investigation.
Advocate depute Jo Mcdonald
April 2015:
Daryll Rowe is diagnosed with HIV.
October-february 2016:
Rowe meets and has sex with eight different men in Brighton.
Sussex Police arrest, question and release the hairdresser in Brighton.
5 February 2016:
23 February 2016:
Police publish a warning, urging gay men in Brighton and Hove to get tested if they had sex with “a man in his 20s with a Scottish accent”.
Officers question Rowe. By this time they know he has lied about being HIV positive.
Rowe goes on the run. He is found at the home of another man in North Tyneside and is arrested.
Police charge Rowe with seven counts of causing grievous bodily harm and one attempt.
May 2016:
November 2016:
December 2016:
February 2017:
all the charges.
October 2017:
April 2018:
May 2018:
Rowe denies
Rowe stands trial as he faces allegations from ten men.
November 2017:
Rowe is convicted of all ten charges.
Rowe sentenced to life with a minimum 12 years.
He is sentenced to eight years at Edinburgh High Court.
said Rowe had unprotected sex with a third man in August 2015 who later told police that he would not have consented to it had he known the hairdresser was HIV positive.
He met a fourth man on Grindr the following month and asked for unprotected sex.
The man specifically asked him about his HIV status and he told him he was “safe”. When the man asked him again after sex, Rowe also claimed he was paranoid.
Rowe, formerly of Musselburgh in East Lothian, will serve his sentence imposed in Scotland yesterday concurrently with that in England.
His actions in Scotland were mirrored by those in England after he made his home on the south coast.
Rowe met men on the gay dating app Grindr. He had intercourse with eight men in Brighton between October 2015 and February 2016 before fleeing to Northumberland where he targeted a further two men.
He infected five men he had sex with and sabotaged condoms with another five in the English case. Rowe went on the run while under investigation. When he was tracked down, officers retrieved a bag from him.
The bag held a packet of condoms, but when they opened them up for tests they discovered they had been tampered with and were broken.
Yesterday, as well as admitting the four charges of culpable and reckless behaviour by exposing men to the virus through unprotected sex and failing to disclose his condition to victims, a raft of other charges against Rowe were dropped. He had originally faced 20 charges involving 12 different men.
The offences has included attempted extortion, as well as allegations of culpable and reckless conduct by exposing individuals to the virus in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Musselburgh, and Burntisland in Fife through intercourse without using condoms.
The Crown accepted his not guilty pleas to the further 16 charges.