Chicago man charged with intentionally infecting girlfriend with HIV

Jet, May 27, 2002

A small South Dakota town recently got a big city scare when a Chicago-area man was charged with intentionally infecting an area woman with the HIV virus.

Nikko Briteramos, 18, a 6-foot-7 basketball player at SiTanka Huron University, became the first person charged under a South Dakota law that makes it illegal to knowingly expose someone to the virus that causes AIDS through unprotected sex. Health officials have been reconstructing the chain of sex partners and have tested more than 200 people for the virus in and around this town of 12,000. So far, three other people have tested positive.

It was discovered Briteramos had been infected with HIV when he tried to give blood in March. He gave authorities a list of at least 10 women with whom he'd had unprotected sex in recent months. From there, health officials followed the chain of sex partners.

His lawyer, Mary Keller, said her client is baffled by the charges. He could get up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all three counts. He pleaded innocent and was released from jail after posting $10,000 bail. A trial date of July 24 has been set.

"He didn't know for sure he had it because he was waiting on a secondary test, and he never received it," said Briteramos' father, Disraeli Briteramos, adding that his son was not certain he had HIV and was awaiting the results of a second test when he was arrested. "I guess you can characterize [his continued unprotected sexual activities] as reckless, but I mean, this wasn't intentional."

"He is not a viral-terrorist," said the elder Briteramos. "HIV already existed in this community, and he contracted it here."

Before last month, there had only been six confirmed HIV cases in the past 17 years in Huron's Beadle County. South Dakota has the second-lowest HIV rate in the nation, just 1.1 cases per 100,000 people. In 2001, only 22 cases were reported in the state. Additional HIV tests will be done over the next several months. The virus can take months to show up in a person's blood.

About 400 students attend the private business school, which was bought last year by the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. The school recruits athletes from much larger cities in other states, including Michigan, Florida and Texas.