HIV constructive prostitute had intercourse with 211 males after studying she’d been contaminated

An HIV-positive intercourse employee had sexual interactions with over 200 shoppers throughout a number of states, police say, prompting a well being warning.

Linda Inez Leccese was charged on Might 14, 2024, with soliciting after she examined constructive for HIV, which is a third-degree felony, in keeping with the Washington County Sheriff’s Workplace.

“This case might stem wherever from Florida up the East Coast, however there are native people that we are going to be reaching out to,” Ohio’s Washington County Sheriff’ Workplace Chief Deputy Mark Warden stated in the course of the press convention, as reported by The Information and Sentinel.

“This investigation will proceed and interviews might be achieved, once more, to guard the general public’s well being to attempt to glean these different people who’ve been involved with this particular person.”

Warden stated the investigation discovered that Ms Leccese continued soliciting work even after she had examined constructive for HIV in 2022.

Now, each the sheriff’s workplace and the Marietta Police Division are within the means of contacting a minimum of 211 individuals who could have been involved together with her primarily based on the numbers had been present in a cellphone she used used conduct enterprise as a intercourse employee.

“We would like the residents on the market to grasp that there might be a deputy sheriff reaching out to those people that we’ve got numbers for,” Warden stated. “They’re not in bother, that is public well being consciousness. This isn’t a rip-off.”

On the press convention, Well being Division Nursing Director Dianna Beck informed the general public the difficulty of individuals coming into contact with the HIV constructive intercourse employee could go farther again than 2022 as a result of it takes 18-90 days to detect HIV antibodies in somebody’s system.

Ms Beck added the incubation interval for HIV is one to 6 weeks, so typically folks don’t know they’re HIV constructive. Signs might embody a sore throat, tiredness, swollen lymph nodes and different mono-like signs.

Well being Division Administrator Barbara Bradley with the Marietta/Belpre Well being Division was readily available on the press convention to assist reply questions and assist those that consider they might have been contaminated.

“For this specific case with the Sheriff’s division we’re asking you to be examined, you and your loved ones members, and to name 740-373-0611 ext. 634 … please inform the receptionist that you’re a part of the sheriff’s case in order that they know the place to direct your name to make an appointment or for extra info,” she stated.