Woman With AIDS Has Concerned Persons Calling Police !!!!
Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2006 3:20 pm
Source: www.stltoday.com
February 13, 2006 Author: By Susan Weich
ST. CHARLES - Several people concerned about their health have called police after hearing media accounts that a 26-year-old woman with the virus that causes AIDs may have had unprotected sex with multiple partners, authorities said Monday.
Police say the woman, Angela D. Harris, has been HIV-positive for more than a dozen years. She was charged Friday with three felony counts of recklessly risking another person with HIV infection after she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend, potentially exposing him to the disease, police said.
Four people have contacted police, including women who said their sexual partners had unprotected sex with Harris and the mother of a 17-year-old boy who said her son had sex with Harris, police said.
Harris, whose last known address was in the 400 block of Emmons Avenue, turned herself into authorities about 5:20 p.m. Saturday and was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. She has previous criminal convictions for stealing and passing bad checks, police said.
Police said they learned about the case last month after Harris’ mother told her boyfriend in December that Harris has HIV. The man, 42, had been having sex with Harris for about two months, authorities say.
So far, he has not gotten the virus, police said. But he will have to be tested again because the virus can show up anytime within six months of exposure to it, health authorities said. If the man does get the virus, Harris could face stiffer charges that carry the possibility of life in prison, prosecutors say. The current charges carry a sentence of five to 15 years on each count.
Julie Burkemper, spokesperson for the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment, said a blood test will determine if a person has been exposed to the virus. Those getting the test, which costs about $10, will get the results in two weeks. All results are sent onto the Missouri State Department of Health.
Burkemper said the testing is confidential but it’s not anonymous, so those being tested have to give their name, but all results are confidential.
Harris’ mother told police that her daughter has had unprotected sex with multiple men who were not aware that she has HIV. She alerted authorities because she feared that her daughter would continue to spread the disease, police said.
Harris discovered that she was HIV-positive when she suffered a miscarriage at age 14, police said. Since that time, the woman has had four children with three different partners. The fathers knew about Harris’ illness, police said, but it was not clear whether they had contracted the virus themselves. One of the children, a boy, tested positive for HIV, drugs and alcohol when he was born, police said.
Police are asking anyone who has had sexual contact with Harris to contact detectives with the St. Charles Police Department at 636-949-3300
February 13, 2006 Author: By Susan Weich
ST. CHARLES - Several people concerned about their health have called police after hearing media accounts that a 26-year-old woman with the virus that causes AIDs may have had unprotected sex with multiple partners, authorities said Monday.
Police say the woman, Angela D. Harris, has been HIV-positive for more than a dozen years. She was charged Friday with three felony counts of recklessly risking another person with HIV infection after she had unprotected sex with her boyfriend, potentially exposing him to the disease, police said.
Four people have contacted police, including women who said their sexual partners had unprotected sex with Harris and the mother of a 17-year-old boy who said her son had sex with Harris, police said.
Harris, whose last known address was in the 400 block of Emmons Avenue, turned herself into authorities about 5:20 p.m. Saturday and was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. She has previous criminal convictions for stealing and passing bad checks, police said.
Police said they learned about the case last month after Harris’ mother told her boyfriend in December that Harris has HIV. The man, 42, had been having sex with Harris for about two months, authorities say.
So far, he has not gotten the virus, police said. But he will have to be tested again because the virus can show up anytime within six months of exposure to it, health authorities said. If the man does get the virus, Harris could face stiffer charges that carry the possibility of life in prison, prosecutors say. The current charges carry a sentence of five to 15 years on each count.
Julie Burkemper, spokesperson for the St. Charles County Department of Community Health and the Environment, said a blood test will determine if a person has been exposed to the virus. Those getting the test, which costs about $10, will get the results in two weeks. All results are sent onto the Missouri State Department of Health.
Burkemper said the testing is confidential but it’s not anonymous, so those being tested have to give their name, but all results are confidential.
Harris’ mother told police that her daughter has had unprotected sex with multiple men who were not aware that she has HIV. She alerted authorities because she feared that her daughter would continue to spread the disease, police said.
Harris discovered that she was HIV-positive when she suffered a miscarriage at age 14, police said. Since that time, the woman has had four children with three different partners. The fathers knew about Harris’ illness, police said, but it was not clear whether they had contracted the virus themselves. One of the children, a boy, tested positive for HIV, drugs and alcohol when he was born, police said.
Police are asking anyone who has had sexual contact with Harris to contact detectives with the St. Charles Police Department at 636-949-3300