ST. LOUIS (KSDK) — Prosecutors continue to investigate a southwest St. Louis area woman they say knowingly spread the HIV virus by selling sex to unknowing men.
St. Louis County police say 20-year-old Nigaila Gibbs of the 7100 block of Horner Avenue, west of Bellevue, is charged with Prostitution while Knowingly Infected with HIV and is held on a bond of $50,000 pending her initial court appearance. Court records indicate Gibbs also goes by the alias “Sarah.”
Police tell NewsChannel 5 Gibbs is alleged to have had numerous sexual encounters with the victims without telling them of her own HIV status.
“Well the first thing is go see a doctor, be checked, make sure you’re medically all right. If they have significant others, hopefully they’ll share that information with them,” St. Louis County Police Sergeant Adam Kavanaugh said.
“But also come forward as victims of hers, because we know that she did not tell anybody that she was infected that she had contact with. And that means either professionally or in her personal life, because she also has personal relationships with people as well.”
Investigators say Gibbs solicited men on Bellevue in Richmond Heights and Maplewood and in St. Louis on Grand, Cherokee, and Chippewa.
Authorities are now searching for additional victims who may have also exposed themselves to the infected woman they arrested on Thursday.
Jodie Bica is STD Program Manager for the St. Louis County Health Department. Bica said whether a partner of a person who has sex with someone who is HIV-positive contracts the virus depends on the viral load and the partner’s immune system.
“So there’s no sense in someone rushing to the clinic, ‘Oh I had unprotected sex yesterday, did I get HIV?’ said Bica. “Because it’s not going to show up. And then if the client does indeed test positive, then there’s a risk to the partner.”
Police say anyone who recognizes Gibbs and had sexual activities with her, should immediately seek medical treatment and contact the St. Louis County Police Crimes Against persons Unit at 1-314-615-5400.
Source: KSDK
