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Upstate New York AIDS scare may spread
Latest developments:
October 28, 1997
- 'He was very active outside (this) community'
- At least 10 HIV cases linked to Williams
- Suspect faces rape charge, perhaps more
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 11:49 a.m. EST (1649 GMT)MAYVILLE, New York (CNN) -- Health authorities said Tuesday the trail of an HIV-infected man suspected of trading drugs for sex with women and girls as young as 13 may lead beyond Chautauqua County in rural western New York state.
Nushawn Williams, 20, has been linked by authorities to at least 10 HIV cases and may be indirectly responsible for exposing dozens of others to the virus that causes AIDS.
Williams is currently jailed in New York City. His sexual encounters under investigation began in mid-1996 and ended in mid-January 1997, authorities said.
'He was very active outside (this) community'
"We have reason to believe ... that he was very active outside (this) community," said Dr. Robert Berke, the Chautauqua County Health Commissioner.
Dr. Berke discusses Williams' possible strategy 
204 K / 15 sec.AIFF or WAV sound "He left here in January. He was incarcerated in September. That's a long time for a guy with this kind of sexual activity to be on the loose somewhere else," Berke told CNN in a live interview.
Williams frequently traveled between New York City and western New York, and may have had a large number of sexual contacts in other counties in New York, health officials said. They said the other counties were being notified but declined to identify them.
"This could geometrically grow by leaps and bounds," Chautauqua County District Attorney Jim Subjack told CNN in a separate live interview.
(At least 10 HIV cases linked to Williams
Authorities suspect Williams infected at least six women after learning he had HIV. They say he may have infected three women, and possibly a fourth, before learning of his infection in September 1996.
Officials say at least one man was infected with HIV through sex with one of Williams' 28 known sex partners. On Monday, Berke said 70 more people in the county may have been exposed that way, but the months-long probe is still filling in details.
After initial reports referred to 11 HIV infections tied to Williams, health authorities later clarified that to explain that they had included Williams as one of the 11.
Suspect faces rape charge
Williams, of New York City, used at least 10 aliases, including the street name "Face," investigators said. They said he talked girls into having sex with him after meeting them at parks and near schools.
He tested positive for HIV on August 15, 1996, and was counseled about it three weeks later, according to Berke.
The only charge to be filed so far against Williams is second-degree rape for allegedly having sex with a 13-year-old girl.
Eventually Williams may be charged with first-degree reckless endangerment and first-degree assault for each person infected with HIV, Subjack said.
Related stories:
- Man linked to HIV outbreak among 11 teens - October 27, 1997
- New AIDS cases drop for the first time in U.S. - September 18, 1997
- HIV infections surge among U.S. women - September 16, 1997
Related sites:
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- The Chautauqua Web - news and local information
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- AIDS Daily Summary - short summations from the CDC that give news and highlights of news relating to HIV/AIDS and related diseases.
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