Northumbria Police says this is only the second time a conviction has been made in England for the intentional transmission of HIV.
The force believes Hall may have abused other men across the country, from County Durham, Middlesbrough and North and West Yorkshire to Manchester, and London.
Sam is encouraging others to come forward and report what happened to them, despite the distress caused by reliving his abuse during police interviews and the trial.
“It is extremely, extremely hard to go through but at the end of the day, once you’ve gone through that, the worst part is over and you do feel relief,” he says.
The trial began in November and ended in March, with jurors reaching their verdicts after almost 43 hours of deliberations.
“Hearing the news that he’d been found guilty was such a relief,” Sam says. “In knowing that I was believed, validated.”
He has many questions for Hall.
“Why?” Sam says, “what was the reason?
“What possessed you to do what you did? Not just to me, but to everyone else that you’ve done it to, what did you gain out of it?”
While his rapist now faces a long time in prison, Sam is looking forward to the rest of his own life as he plans to return to education with a view to becoming a nurse.
“Just knowing that’s a chapter I can now close,” he says of the court case.
“It has helped me to push forward and move on.”