Nushawn Williams

Nushawn Williams (born 1976) admitted in 1997 to having unprotected sex with numerous girls and women despite being told he was HIV positive. State and local public-health officials stated that Williams had sex with up to 47 women in Chautauqua County and at least 28 more in New York City. Williams told the New York Times that his actual number of sexual partners was up to 300.

Williams, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was the primary cause of an HIV micro-epidemic in Chautauqua County, N.Y., a rural area in upstate New York. He infected at least 13 women in Chautauqua County, New York with HIV, including numerous teenagers. In 1999, he pleaded guilty to two counts of statutory rape (two of his victims were underage) and one count of reckless endangerment in the first degree for having unprotected sex with a woman who did not know his HIV status. He received a 4-to-12 year sentence.

Numerous reports indicate that Williams was a petty drug-dealer who bragged of his gang-related activities and had a history of violence against women, including many of the women he infected. Williams's braggadocio and violence belied the ease with which he attracted women of all races and socioeconomic classes. News reports make numerous mentions of his charming interpersonal style with women. Women quoted in news stories often pointed to Williams's ability to make them feel special and loved, even while excercising violent control over their actions. In the case of his youngest victim, who was 13, Williams reportedly pursued a relationship for several months.

Despite being told he was HIV-positive, Williams stated that he believed health officials had lied to him when they informed him of his HIV status. His case received widespread media attention and ignited a debate over whether knowingly spreading HIV could be viewed as a crime as well as debates over the promiscuous sexuality of U.S. culture and the role of sex education in American high schools.

The case also raised questions as to whether the state should continue to respect the anonymity of those who test positive for HIV. Prior to the Williams case, health officials believed that publicising the names of HIV-positive individuals would result in a reduction in HIV testing and subject HIV-positive individuals, particularly members of the gay community, to increased social stigma. As a result of the Williams case, New York passed a law that mandated doctors and laboratories to report the names of individuals who test positive for HIV. This information is then used by local authorities to warn the partners of HIV-positive individuals.

In April 2010, after serving the maximum 12-year sentence, New York attorney general Andrew M. Cuomo moved to block Williams's release and place him under civil confinement under a statute aimed at predatory sex offenders.