Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office is attempting to block the release of a Brooklyn man who knowingly infected over a dozen females with HIV. Nushawn Williams, who has served a maximum sentence of 12 years, was scheduled to be freed from prison yesterday, but the NY Times reports, "Mr. Cuomo’s office is seeking to keep him in custody under a three-year-old state law that permits the civil confinement of sex offenders."
According to the Post, "Health officials believe Williams had sex with at least 43 women upstate in Jamestown and another 28 in New York City after learning he was HIV-positive in September 1996. Of those, 13 contracted HIV and two have given birth to children with the virus." Williams was dubbed a modern-day "Typhoid Harry" and later pleaded guilty to statutory rape and reckless endangerment.
The state could win civil confinement if it's believed that Williams would spread HIV if released. An inmate told health officials reviewing the case, "He planned to intentionally infect more women with the highly infectious disease upon his release both through sexual contact and infected needles." The Daily News adds, "Williams, 33, didn't change much behind bars, having thrown bodily fluids at other inmates and been sanctioned 21 times for violent conduct, threats, fighting, and possession of drugs and weapons."