South Dakota Student Who Pleaded Guilty to HIV Exposure Accused of Violating Conditions of Suspended Sentence
Nikko Briteramos, the 19-year-old Si Tanka Huron University student who pleaded guilty last month to charges of knowingly exposing a woman to HIV, on Tuesday was accused of violating a condition of the suspended sentence he received last week, the AP/Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports. Briteramos on Aug. 29 was ordered to break no more laws, spend 120 days in jail, refrain from having unprotected sex without informing partners of his HIV-positive status and perform 200 hours of community service. Circuit Court Judge Tim Tucker also ordered Briteramos to continue his college education and permitted him to leave jail to attend classes. Briteramos on Tuesday was permitted to leave jail to register for one class but was told to "return immediately to jail." Briteramos returned more than five hours later and subsequently tested positive for marijuana. According to Beadle County state attorney Mike Moore, Briteramos visited a friend and spent more than one hour at his own house during his release. "When you're on school release, you are to go straight to your destination and come straight back," Moore said, adding that Briteramos "did not do that." Briteramos denied the allegations, and Tucker set a trial date to examine the breach of sentence for Sept. 12. Moore said he may also charge Briteramos with escape and marijuana possession or use (Brandert, AP/Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 9/4). Briteramos is the first person convicted under a 2000 South Dakota law that makes it a felony to intentionally expose people to HIV. He could have received up to 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 8/30).
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