Fla. Woman Charged With Transmitting HIV To 200 Partners

mycfnow ^

[chance33_98]

Fla. Woman Charged With Transmitting HIV To 200 Partners

Posted: 8:05 a.m. EST March 8, 2003 Updated: 9:36 a.m. EST March 9, 2003

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A Jacksonville woman is facing charges that she criminally transmitted the HIV virus to at least 200 unprotected parters. Melissa Jernigan, 24, told police that she tested positive for the virus in 1999 and continued to have unprotected sex.

It is a third-degree felony in Florida, punishable by five years in prison, for an HIV-positive person to have sex with a partner but not first informing them about the diagnosis of the virus.

"This crime is actually in the area of attempted murder," Sgt. H.R. Atkinson of the Duval County Sheriff's Office sex crimes unit told the Florida Times-Union for its Saturday editions.

Jernigan was being held Friday at the John E. Goode Pre-Trial Detention Facility in Jacksonville. It could not be immediately determined if she had obtained an attorney.

[FITZ]

A 24 year old child who can document having sex at least 201 times ?

Think about it --- a woman having sex with only 5 partners a year (sleeping with all her "dates" in other words) starting at age 15 will have had 50 sex partners by the time she is 25 and wouldn't be considered a slut by herself or most. A real slut could easily go out to a bar twice a week and be picked up each time and have over 100 partners in one year.

[george wythe]

-- A Jacksonville woman is facing charges that she criminally transmitted the HIV virus to at least 200 unprotected parters.

There is something wrong in this story.

She might have exposed 200 people to HIV, but I doubt all 200 of them got the virus

[jeremiah]

For her to transmit the virus, she would have to have sex over 200,000 times by the law of averages. I believe the transmission rate is nearly 1,000 sexual encounters with a female, for one male to be infected. Stupid law, discourages people from being tested. It doesn't stop them from spreading it. She'll probably go to prison, live 45 more years, while those she "supposedly infected", die in 10.

[John123]

That comes out to about one partner a weekend. That is more on the slut level. Had a roommate that averaged that and she was not a pro she just had the morals of an alley cat.

OMG! I am in my late thirties and only had long-term monogamous relations with three women in my entire life. If what you say is true, I am really shocked!

[Queen Jadis]

You serious ? Alot of women 24 years old have sex that often ? Goodness ... I honestly had no idea . I'll take your word for it but I'm honestly shocked .

i have my doubts...look at the reactions of the posters. she is obviously and abberation.

[templar]

I'll take your word for it but I'm honestly shocked .

You can generally find them in any fairly large city ... Denver, LA, NYC, Leesville, Chicago etc. In Denver they are generally found socializing along East Colfax street. I'm not sure where they normally congregate in other cities. Just otherwise nice young women who enjoy popularity with men a bit too much.

[Queen Jadis]

an abberation

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

Melissa Jernigan sounds like a slut.

No, she sounds like a hooker.

[It's me]

She had unprotected sex with over 200..not transmitted the virus. Its not 100% that she will transmit HIV.

Would YOU have sex with a woman (assuming that you are a guy, of course) who has AIDS? Would YOU take that chance?

[Dysart]

I'd hope we have a learned person of science drop in and contribute,but as I understand it, the rate of female to male transmission of the virus is quite low. Thus, she would have to "sleep" with an astronomical number of men to infect 200!

Maybe I'm naive-- I don't know any women who bed down with a different guy every weekend these days. Shirley not!(my feeling is that this is indeed a prostitute)

[templar]

Of those who died from HIV/AIDS, 610,000 were younger than 15, and almost half were women

Is there any statistic of the ethnicity or nationality of the victims?

[Jorge]

A lot of 24 year old women have been having sex with 5 or 10 men almost daily since they were 14 or 15. No need to actually document the 200+ figure.

A lot of women have 5 or 10 men almost daily since they were 14 or 15? That's not very believable. They wouldn't have time to do almost anything else in life.

Even the most promiscuos gay men,(who are considered the worst) don't make claims like this.

[george wythe]

she would have to "sleep" with an astronomical number of men to infect 200!

That was my take also.

Otherwise, she could have been a nymphomaniac living near a college town

[Ben Bolt]

Yes I've tossed numbers around in my head for a bit on this . Of course now .. I'm comparing myself to her so this is part of my suprise . In addition not a single peer , friend , neighbor or business client with whom I associate with has children who behave this way .

I do wish this child some good fortune in the future but 1st she'll have to face what choices she has made for herself of course .

[Nov3]

I find it hard to believe that she transmitted it to 200 men. The odds of getting it through hetero sex are pretty low.

[templar]

They wouldn't have time to do almost anything else in life.

They usually don't. Other than drugs maybe, but that doesn't seem to interfere much.

[pitinkie]

I am a woman and what the h+ll does that have to do with this story!

[Queen Jadis]

If you are interested there was a survey done in the 90's on sexual behavior of Americans...this woman is on the OUTSIDE of the norm. Thankfully I might add. Scroll down article for intersting "statistics".

A look at sex in America

[Ben Bolt]

Yes indeed .. Like you I was hoping she was on the outer circle . The exception .

[FITZ]

with whom I associate with has children who behave this way .

Or they don't tell you. It's really not that uncommon for a person to have 5-10 dates a year and if you get in the habit of sleeping by the second or third date, the numbers can start adding up. Much faster for the looking-for-mr goodbar types ----and they don't see themselves as sluts. A woman I knew was telling us she really didn't have all that many dates ----only about 5 a year but after 10 years --at age 25, she realized it had been over 50 and she was acknowledging the fact that she couldn't remember all their names but had slept with them ---and said that made her feel kind of funny about it.