A new documentary examining the case of Daryll Rowe, who was convicted for sleeping with men in order to deliberately pass on HIV, sees the Scottish man address the people he targeted.
The documentary – The Man Who Used HIV As A Weapon – features interviews with five of the men affected by Rowe’s actions.
Daryll Rowe was handed an eight year jail sentence in May 2018, after a court in Edinburgh found him guilty of intentionally having unprotected sex, while being fully aware he was HIV Positive. In addition to prison time, Rowe has been placed on the sex offender register for life.
Rowe was diagnosed with HIV in 2015. He would then sleep with men he met on dating apps without disclosing his status.
Rowe’s crimes were committed throughout England and Scotland between October 2015 and December 2018.
The court found that Rowe would avoid wearing a condom, or tamper with it in order to infect other people.
A clip from the documentary shows Rowe asking for forgiveness from the men whose lives he had affected:
“I would like to say to the men in Scotland and in England that I am really sorry for my behaviour, for being so naive and so reckless.”
Rowe continued:
“The main thing is that I hope that they can forgive me one day and they can try and live a happy life and put this behind them.”
Daryll Rowe, a Scots hairdresser accused of deliberately infecting male lovers with #HIV has been ARRESTED after five weeks on the run. pic.twitter.com/k3FmwcOM4k
— Alberto (@almagoch) December 29, 2016
At the time of his sentencing, Police Scotland’s DCI Martin MacLean said:
“Since April 2015, he was fully aware of his illness yet refused treatment that would ensure his own health and safeguard his sexual partners from the risk of infection. To make matters worse, he would then knowingly engage in sexual activity with individuals he met without divulging his condition.
“Rowe would then go to great lengths to ensure he put partners at risk of contracting HIV, demonstrating the callous and reckless nature of his character.”
The Man Who Used HIV As A Weapon will air on BBC 3 on Friday March 15.
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