COPS have made an urgent appeal after a rapist with HIV used dating apps to “make contact” with almost 400 men – who now need to be tested.
Police have appealed for potential victims of “predatory” convicted rapist Jonathan Carl to come forward.
Police have appealed for potential victims of “predatory” Jonathan Carl to come forward after he was convicted of rape and infecting men with HIVUnpixs
PACarl had been using dating apps over several years and officers believe there are 318 men that need to be identified and tested for HIV[/caption]
Carl, 42, was sentenced in June to 17 years in jail after being convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court of rape and grievous bodily harm of reckless transmission of HIV.
Met Police said their investigation began after a man reported that he had woken up to being raped after having met up with Carl.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said there were a “significant number of very vulnerable individuals who could be victim-survivors of rape”.
Carl had been using dating apps over several years and officers believe there are 318 men that need to be identified and tested for HIV.
The hairdresser, who lived in Hornchurch, London, mainly met people at his home address above a chip shop.
He met “three or four people a day” from east London and Essex – including the areas of Havering, Redbridge, Barking and Dagenham.
Cops said that between 2019 and 2023 Carl made around “400 digital contacts” through the dating apps Grindr and Scruff who he “met or was close to meeting”.
Of those 400 men, police have already identified 82 – and some tested positive for HIV.
Footage of Carl being arrested hears him saying “rape? I can’t believe it” when he was informed of the allegations.
“I don’t get it,” he said, shaking his head.
Mr Basford said: “He is a predatory individual. We have messages and content which would lead us to say that there are victims of rape out there who have not come forward to the police.”
Acting Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Bishop said it was “very difficult” to assess the number of potential victims.
She said: “We believe as many as 318 men may be a victim, and might need to come forward for testing and support.
“You may have met Carl through an online dating platform, or visited his home address in Hornchurch, which is distinctively located above a fish and chip shop.”
Carl was described at his sentencing as “prolific” and “only interested in his own sexual desires”.
Ms Bishop said that Carl, who had worked as a hairdresser, was “meeting three or four people a day on some occasions”.
Carl was convicted at Snaresbrook Crown Court of one count of rape and one count of section 20 grievous bodily harm of reckless transmission of HIV.
He was served with a 15-year sexual prevention order under which he has to notify police within three days of having a new sexual partner and has to disclose his HIV status if he is not taking his medication.
One of his victims said: “[I felt] powerless, I felt like there was nothing I could do. It made me feel like I didn’t matter, it made me feel less than human.
“The main reason I came forward to police, is because I wanted to stop this from happening to anyone else.”
Another said in a statement: “It has damaged me from having any sort of romantic relationship in the future, due to people’s overall thoughts on HIV.
“It makes me fry my brain as I overthink about what I could have done differently. I still struggle with this guilty feeling.”
Anyone who may have had contact with Jonathan Carl is urged to contact detectives directly on 0207175273, or email [email protected].
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