The Associated Press; 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020 - Friday, October 31, 1997; 7:17 a.m. EST
Catherine Crocker, Associated Press Writer

One by one, they recounted how the 20-year-old drifter duped them when he lived in their rural western New York community, never telling them he was infected with the AIDS virus.

Even as they recited their stories, sometimes between sobs, a brooding mugshot of Williams loomed behind them Thursday on a large TV monitor, framed by the words: "AIDS Scare in a Small Town."

Authorities say hundreds of people may be at risk of HIV infection through direct or indirect contact with Williams, who hung around parks in Jamestown, sweet-talking young girls, sometimes offering them drugs.

"He didn't trade me sex for drugs," an obviously distraught 18-year-old woman named Andrea said during a taping of "The Montel Williams Show" that will air Monday. "He was my boyfriend. He bought me anything I wanted."

Andrea, who gave only her first name, has tested positive for HIV. The two other women -- 20-year-old Christina and 18-year-old Amber Arnold -- are living in fear they'll test positive, too.

"We partied together, got drunk, got high," Christina said, adding that she and Williams had sex three or four times. "I am very worried. I am very scared."

Miss Arnold said she did not blame Williams for having sex with women, herself included, without telling them he was infected with HIV. She plans to visit him in prison.

"It's not only his fault," she said. "Any one of these girls could have told him to put on a condom and he would have done it because that's the kind of man he was."

"Why should I ... let him die alone," she added, her voice breaking. "I know how it feels to be alone, alone in jail, alone in life, and have nobody love you."

Andrea said she dated Williams off and on for a short time.

"He liked the way I looked and I liked the way he looked," she said. But she tearfully added that he hit her and threatened to kill her if she left him.

Williams gave health workers in upstate Chautauqua County the names of 20 sex partners at the time of his own HIV test a year ago. He gave New York City officials dozens more names last week during an interview from jail, where he has been since last month on a drug charge. Police and health officials were concerned that Williams could have had partners in Brooklyn and the Bronx, where he also lived for a while.

Also in the Manhattan studio were students from Jamestown High School, which on Thursday allowed youngsters to leave school early to be tested for the virus that causes AIDS.

In Jamestown, where Williams himself was suspected of infecting nine girls with the human immunodeficiency virus, the anxiety was building as dozens of teen-agers rolled up their sleeves to be tested.

"I'm worried, for real," 15-year-old Mike said. "I'm afraid if they do say I have it I'm going to flip."

State Health Commissioner Barbara DeBuono promised that tests from Chautauqua County would be given priority at the state lab, but any wait seemed far too long for nervous teens.

"They told me three weeks," a blond girl named Carrie said, rolling her eyes, "but I can call in two."

The AIDS scare extended beyond New York state.

Brian Jones, a former roommate of Williams, said he joined him on drug-dealing trips to Washington, Richmond, Va., and Boston, where Williams may have had sex with more women.

The two men made several trips to Boston during the last year, Jones said in an interview broadcast Wednesday on WPIX-TV in New York.

New York officials were following up the lead but said they found nothing to indicate Williams infected anyone in Boston, The Boston Globe reported today, citing Sean Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

"I have no idea whether to put credence in the report. It's one of a lot of leads that we have," said Fred Winters, spokesman for the New York Health Department.

Copyright 1997/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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