A ‘predatory’ rapist who targeted ‘vulnerable’ men and infected at least one with HIV may have hundreds more victims, police believe.
Jonathan Carl was jailed this summer after being convicted of raping one man and a separate count of GBH through recklessness on another, after failing to disclose his HIV status.
But police now believe the 43-year-old from Hornchurch in east London, may have infected others, and say scrutiny of Carl’s electronic devices suggest there are 318 men who need to be identified and tested for a potential sexually transmitted disease.
A ‘significant number’ of them may have been raped by Carl, the Metropolitan Police said today.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: ‘He is a very predatory individual.
‘So my message is, I do believe there to be male victims of rape from our suspect.’
He said he did not want potential victims of rape or reckless tranmission of HIV to feel under pressure to report allegations to police, but said he hoped the LGBT community appreciated that the Met had learned lessons learned from its previous poor handling of some high-profile cases involving gay men.
Carl, a hairdresser, met up to four men a day for sex at his flat above a chip shop between 2019 and 2023, police said.
They were aged between 17 and their 60s, and many of whom were unsure of their sexuality or had no previous sexual experience.
Jonathan Carl was arrested by police in January last year on suspicion of rape and GBH with intent
The 43-year-old hairdresser from east London was later convicted of two offences
But police believe Carl is a predator who may have infected or raped a significant number of gay men
So police are asking the more than 300 men they identified having had contact with Carl to come forward for testing
Carl was handed a 17-year jail term this summer
Carl would meet men on gay dating apps such as Grindr and Scruff, before messaging them saying they did not need to use protection because he was ‘clean negative’, even though he was not taking his medication to prevent onward transmission.
But in 2024, two men came forward independently to police – the first alleging he had been raped, the other saying he had HIV transmitted to him during consensual sex with Carl.
Carl was arrested and police seized his phones where they found contact with around 400 men.
Police were able to track just over 80 of these. There remains more than 300 people who police have not been able to trace, due to their identities being concealed by their profile names on the dating apps.
But detectives are confident, due to messages sent between the men, that some of them have been assaulted by Carl.
Mr Basford said: ‘We do hold messages which we can’t attribute where individuals are challenging the suspect to what I would which we classify as rape offences, ie: “I didn’t allow you to, I told you not to, I asked you to”.’
Carl was sentenced to 17 years in jail and was served with a 15-year sexual harm prevention order, with conditions including that he has to notify police within three days of having a new sexual partner.
Police hope the convictions will give confidence to the gay community in east London, after the Met was heavily criticised over the investigation into so-called Grindr killer Stephen Port, who murdered four young men during a 16-month period between 2014 and 2015.
Port lured his victims to his one-bed flat in Barking before fatally plying them with date-rape drug GHB and then dumping their bodies nearby. He was handed a whole life term of imprisonment in 2016.
Yet it emerged police failed to carry out basic checks, did not exercise professional curiosity, and did not send evidence to be forensically examined.
A coroner later ruled that failings by the Met after the first murder contributed to the three subsequent deaths.
Acting Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Bishop, who led the investigation into Carl, today launched an appeal for those potentially affected by his offending to seek support.
She said: ‘Our priority remains supporting those impacted by Carl’s actions, and we believe there are still more men to be identified.
‘So we are appealing for any victim-survivors who haven’t yet spoken to us to come forward.
‘We are concerned about your health status, and we want to provide you with a safe space to be tested for a potential sexually transmitted disease.’
She spoke to colleagues with Greater Manchester Police for advice following their successful conviction of Reynhard Sinaga, Britain’s most prolific rapist, who targeted hundreds of men, many of whom were never identified.
And she said she felt the gay community now had greater faith in the Met as a result of its approach to the Carl case, which involved liaising with gay charities and health groups.
Mr Basford added: ‘If you are a victim of rape, I want you to come forward and have trust and confidence in what we’ve done here, the way we’ve gone about this investigation, with colleagues, charities and support groups to try and do the best thing, and obviously get the conviction.
‘So hopefully that’s given some trust and confidence from a community aspect.’
Statistics show the vast majority (98%) of people living with diagnosed HIV in England are virally suppressed and therefore unable to pass on the virus to a sexual partner.
Potential victims of Carl’s offending are asked to contact police by emailing survivors@met.police.uk
