HIV rapist's drug dealer accomplice sentenced
BBCA man who dealt drugs alongside a rapist who deliberately inflicted seven young men with HIV has been sentenced.
John Harrison, 54, lived for a while with Adam Hall and the pair sold drugs including cocaine, MDMA and ketamine in the "chemsex" community over a 16-month period, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Hall was previously jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years after being found guilty of intentionally inflicting grievous bodily harm on seven young men, including a 15-year-old boy, four of whom he raped.
Harrison was jailed for 23 months, suspended for two years, with 100 hours unpaid work, after admitting conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs.
Harrison worked with Hall to sell drugs between May 2021 and September 2022 with the pair caught with up to £24,000 worth of illegal substances and more than £12,500 in cash, prosecutor Jon Harley said.
He lived with Hall in Washington for a while with drugs found in his bedroom during a police raid, the court heard.
Northumbria PoliceIn mitigation, Josh Normanton said Harrison got involved with a "hedonistic culture" to "avoid the effect of grief" after losing his long-term partner to a brain haemorrhage.
He became addicted to "chemsex drugs" and the "chemsex lifestyle" and started just by selling substances to friends, Normanton said.
Chemsex refers to the high-risk practice of using drugs during sex, which is designed to enhance, prolong or facilitate sexual experiences.
Judge Edward Bindloss, who had sentenced Hall after presiding over his 97-day-long trial said Harrison had been "descending fast" and "fell in with a man called Adam Hall who I know only too well".
He said the pair were "working as a team" but the judge took the "exceptional course" of suspending Harrison's sentence due to his strong personal mitigation and his being assessed as posing a low risk of reoffending.
The judge said Harrison's case had also been delayed to await the outcome of Hall's trial, with Harrison, from Ryton, having entered guilty pleas in July 2024.
Hall's prison sentence also included four years and three months for drug dealing offences.
