A hairdresser originally from Edinburgh, later living in Brighton, England, is accused of deliberately infecting his lovers with HIV, even chortling “I got you” after they had sex.
Daryll Rowe, 26, denies infecting four men with the virus and trying to infect six more, but his alleged victims have a different story to tell. The court heard that Rowe had sex with at least 10 men he met on Grindr after he knew he was HIV positive. The jury at Lewes Crown Court heard testimony from one of Rowe’s victims in which Rowe allegedly said, “I ripped the condom. Burn. I got you.”
Rowe later sent his victims text messages telling them he was HIV positive.
One complainant said Rowe told him he wanted intercourse without a condom but the complainant refused. Rowe later attempted to penetrate the complainant without a condom and the complainant forced him to don a condom.
The Independent reported one exchange in the courtroom:
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry QC said: “You told the police that he said, ‘Come on, come on, I’m fine, you know you want it’.” The complainant replied: “Yes, he did.” Ms Carberry said: “And what did you take ‘I’m fine’ to mean?” He said: “That he was clean. That he had no diseases.”
The complainant said Rowe sent him a stream of text messages, which he blocked, but then Rowe repeatedly phoned him.
The Independent continued:
He allegedly told the complainant: “You think you can block me” and “I ripped the condom. Burn. I got you.” Giving evidence, the alleged victim said: “I basically said to him ‘Why would you say something like that?’ That’s a really crazy thing to say to somebody, and then I just got worried so I wanted to listen to what he had to say and that was it. It was just panic. Worry.”
The complainant said Rowe was “kind of laughing.” The complainant later tested positive for HIV.
Rowe’s first alleged victim told the court he received a message which read: “Maybe you have the fever. I came inside you and I have HIV LOL. Oops!”
Rowe was diagnosed with HIV in April 2015; he later he refused antiretroviral drugs to make him less contagious.
The four men Rowe is accused of infecting with HIV had strains of the disease highly similar to Rowe’s.
