Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - April 27, 2002
Amy E. Nevala, Tribune staff reporter
Intentionally exposing individuals to HIV, which causes AIDS, is a felony in South Dakota punishable by 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Nikko J. Briteramos, 18, is being held in the Beadle County Jail in South Dakota on a $10,000 bond, facing five counts of intentionally exposing his girlfriend to HIV infection.
A hearing is set for Monday, said South Dakota state prosecutor Michael Moore. Briteramos, arrested at Huron University, was notified March 27 of his HIV status by health officials who learned of it from the Red Cross, where he had donated blood a month earlier, said Doneen Hollingsworth, director of the South Dakota Department of Health.
Counselors were doing a routine follow-up when they knocked on his dorm room door Tuesday, Moore said.
Briteramos appeared at the door in his underwear and agreed to meet in the bathroom, Moore said. A female fled the room, and Briteramos admitted they had sex without a condom, Moore said.
The woman's HIV test results are pending, Moore said.
Briteramos provided the South Dakota Health Department with a list of his sexual partners, officials said, but they would not disclose the number. Some of the women are from outside South Dakota, Moore said, and range from age 18 to 40.
Two women Briteramos identified have tested positive, officials said, but it is unclear if he infected them. Both are over age 18 and live in South Dakota, Moore said.
An additional 50 people who had sexual contact with Briteramos or the two women are being tested, officials said.
The Chicago and Cook County Departments of Public Health said they have not yet been contacted by the South Dakota Health Department.
Briteramos attended St. Patrick High School in Chicago for two semesters in 1999 while living at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls on the Near West Side. After dropping out, he lived with his father in Rogers Park and attended Sullivan High School but never graduated, said a Chicago Public Schools spokeswoman.
Briteramos earned his GED before leaving in August for Huron University, a college of about 400 students in east-central South Dakota, a family member said. Briteramos is listed as a 6-foot-7-inch freshman center on the school's basketball roster.
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