A FORMER Musselburgh man who was sentenced to life in England for deliberately infecting men with HIV was jailed today (Friday) for eight years for similar offences in Scotland.

HIV positive Daryll Rowe, 27, admitted having unprotected sex with four men in Edinburgh after being diagnosed with the virus and passed on the infection to one victim.

A judge told him at the High Court in Edinburgh: "The nature of your conduct and the utter callousness shown by you make these offences very serious."

Lady Scott said that Rowe had "grossly breached the trust" of the men involved and had caused them considerable fear and concern and praised the victim who contracted the virus for showing "considerable dignity".

Rowe, a former North Berwick High School pupil, had assured one man that he was "safe" before sex and accused others of being paranoid because of their safety concerns.

He failed to tell all men that he had the virus at the time of the sexual encounters after meeting them through the gay dating app Grindr.

Advocate depute Jo McDonald told the court that Rowe was diagnosed with HIV in April 2015 after he had been in contact with someone with the virus. He was given information about medication and advised of the risk of transmission through unprotected intercourse.

The prosecutor said he attended a follow-up appointment and added: "At that appointment the accused was advised that his viral load, that being the term used to describe the amount of HIV in the carrier's blood, was in excess of 200,000. A high load is generally considered to be that over 100,000, although virus levels can be much higher and counted in millions."

At a further meeting a doctor noted that he was "not keen to take HIV treatment" as he disliked medication. He was advised to use condoms at all times for penetrative sex and was told that his viral load was quite high.

Rowe repeatedly expressed a desire to manage his condition by healthy living and diet.

He met his first victim through the dating website in June 2015 and had unprotected sex with him on one occasion. He was later told that Rowe was HIV positive but he tested negative.

Rowe met a second man on Grindr in July and they exchanged messages with the intention of meeting up to have sex later that day.

He went to Rowe's then address at Stenhouse Avenue West, Edinburgh, and was assured by him that he would use a condom.

Days later, Rowe sent him a text telling him he did not wear a condom.

The man later tested positive for the virus but has since had anti-retroviral therapy and is well.

The advocate depute said: "He stated that had he known the accused was HIV positive he would not have had sex with him at all."

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 that he 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 claimed he was paranoid.

The man later told police that he would not have taken part in intercourse if he had known that Rowe was HIV positive.

Rowe, formerly of Lochend Road North, Musselburgh, became the first man in the country to be found guilty of intentionally setting out to spread the virus after he was convicted following a trial in England last year.

Last month he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of 12 years before he can seek parole. His sentence in Scotland will run concurrently with that in England.

Rowe infected five men he had sex with and sabotaged condoms with another five in the English case.

He met men on Grindr and 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 sent one victim a text reading: "Maybe you have the fever coz... I have HIV LOL."

Rowe admitted four charges of culpable and reckless behaviour by exposing men to the virus through unprotected sex and failing to disclose his condition to victims, when he appeared in court today.

He had originally faced a total of 20 charges involving 12 different men.

As well as allegations of culpable and reckless conduct by exposing individuals to the virus in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Musselburgh and Burntisland, Fife, through intercourse without using condoms, they had included charges of attempted extortion.

It was alleged that he tried to get £1,000 from one man by threatening to expose him as gay and to get a further £1,000 from another man by putting photos and video of a sexual encounter on the internet.

The Crown accepted his not guilty pleas to the further 16 charges.

Defence counsel Shelagh McCall QC said it was clear from medical notes that Rowe was not coping with the HIV diagnosis at the time but also believed he could be cured through alternative therapies, including a urine therapy.

She said: "He accepts his behaviour was reckless. It is fair to say he regrets it enormously."

The defence counsel said that his virus load was currently undetectable and while that remained the case the virus was not transmitted.

Miss McCall said that Rowe had a troubled childhood during which he suffered physical and emotional abuse and he was taken into care before being placed with a foster family.

Rowe was placed on the sex offenders' register.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin MacLean from Edinburgh's Public Protection Unit said: "Daryll Rowe is a devious and deceptive predator who has shown absolutely no remorse for the extensive suffering and distress he has caused his victims.

"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.

"Significant enquiries were conducted by not only Police Scotland but colleagues in England, resulting in Rowe's arrest and subsequent custodial sentences.

"It is my sincere hope that all of those affected by Daryll Rowe's calculated criminality feel some sense of justice following today's outcome."

Procurator Fiscal for Sexual Offences, Kenny Donnelly said: "There is no doubt that Daryll Rowe knew what he was doing and that had no regard for the safety of his victims or the consequences of his actions.

"The fact that his victims had the courage to come forward to report what had happened to them has allowed us to bring him to justice."