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A hairdresser deliberately infected his lovers with HIV before sending them chilling messages telling them he had the virus, jurors have been told.

Daryll Rowe, 26, allegedly told partners he met on dating app Grindr that he did not have the condition in order to persuade them to have unprotected sex.

If they insisted on using a condom, he tampered with it, Lewes Crown Court heard, before sending the mocking messages.

He has been charged with infecting four men with HIV, and attempting to infect a further six in the 14 months before December last year.

One received a text saying: "Maybe you have the fever. I came inside you and I have HIV LOL. Oops!"

Rowe, who is originally from Edinburgh, was diagnosed with the condition in 2015, when he lived in Scotland.

The alleged offences happened in Brighton, the court heard.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry QC described his alleged crimes as "a cynical and deliberate campaign to infect other men with HIV".

She added: "Unfortunately for many of the men he met, his campaign was successful."

Doctors found he was "coping well" with his diagnosis, said Ms Carberry, but were concerned when he refused vaccination for common illnesses HIV positive patients are susceptible to, such as pneumonia.

He had been contacted by a sexual health clinic after a former partner was diagnosed.

They were also worried when he refused antiretroviral drugs to slow the development of the virus and make those infected with HIV less contagious, jurors heard.

Ms Carberry said: "He was warned he could be prosecuted for passing (HIV) on or even putting someone at risk of contracting HIV from him."

She continued: "He told his doctors he was not going to engage in any unprotected sex again, but failed to attend further appointments in Edinburgh and by this time he had moved to Brighton.

"He had no obvious family or other connections in the area although he had been in communication online on a dating app Grindr with a number of men.

"Through Grindr, the prosecution say, he was in contact with men that he would later go on to infect or attempt to affect with HIV."

The court heard that one of the complainants last tested negative for HIV on the morning he met Rowe in October 2015 and did not have sex again before he was diagnosed with HIV two months later.

When another insisted he use a condom, Rowe later allegedly told him in an abusive phone call: "I ripped the condom. You're so stupid. You didn't even know."

(Image: Adam Gerrard/Daily Mirror)

Another 25-year-old man had only had only had one sexual partner before Rowe, and considered him to be his boyfriend.

Judge Christine Hensen has granted all victims the right to lifelong anonymity and the the option to give evidence from behind a screen so they won't have to face Rowe in court.

After two complainants came forward, Sussex police launched Operation Brickhill and a community-wide public health warning in the Brighton area to look for further possible victims.

Rowe appeared in the dock in a dark blue suit and tie. The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, continues.