A “deeply predatory” individual found guilty of rape and the reckless transmission of HIV could have countless other victims, the Metropolitan Police has cautioned.
Jonathan Carl, 42, residing in Hornchurch, east London, was sentenced to 17 years in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court last month after being convicted of rape. He had previously pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm in June.
The former hairdresser was apprehended after two of his victims, who had met socially, shared similar accounts of their experiences, realizing they had both fallen victim to the same perpetrator and subsequently reported him to the police at Romford.
Investigators later uncovered over 400 of Carl’s digital contacts, aged between 17 and 60, on gay dating platforms such as Grindr and Scruff, spanning a period of four years.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford spoke to the BBC, stating, “What was even more concerning were the messages that indicated there were victims of rape who had reached out to him, confronting him about certain acts that we would classify as rape.”
According to the Metropolitan Police, at least 82 men have been identified and prioritized for screening by the NHS after being made aware of Carl’s health status.
It is a criminal offense to intentionally or recklessly spread a sexually transmitted infection. Under the Offences Against the Person Act, this constitutes grievous bodily harm.
The LGBTQ+ community exhibits the lowest confidence in the Metropolitan Police among all demographic groups, with only 58% trust, as reported in the latest survey from the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).
This situation is compounded by a history of police mishaps in the same region of east London, which resulted in the deaths of the final three victims of serial killer Stephen Port between June 2014 and September 2015.
In 2023, a regulatory body alerted the Met that it might be neglecting to identify serial killers due to inadequate investigations into unexpected fatalities.
One of Carl’s victims expressed feeling “helpless,” stating, “There was nothing I could do.”
He shared, “It made me feel insignificant, less than human. The primary reason I approached the police was to prevent this from happening to anyone else.”
Another victim indicated that the experience has hindered his ability to form romantic relationships in the future, owing to societal perceptions regarding HIV.
He remarked, “I constantly overthink what I could have done differently. I still grapple with feelings of guilt.”
Det Supt Basford emphasized the importance of allowing “every victim-survivor the option and agency” to decide whether to report to the police or seek medical assistance.
He informed the BBC that Carl “chose not to adhere to the medication” prescribed for his HIV.
Furthermore, he added, “Throughout all his interactions with individuals, he opted to deceive them about his health status. While the law does not obligate someone to disclose their status to others, what we can demonstrate is that he acted recklessly regarding transmission, fully aware of these circumstances.”
