Nushawn Williams

Nushawn Williams (born November 1, 1976), also known as Shyteek Johnson, is an American convicted sex offender who admitted in 1997 to having unprotected sex with numerous girls and women after having been told that he was HIV positive. New York state and local public health officials stated that Williams had sex with up to 47 women in Chautauqua County and 50–75 in New York City. Williams said in a news interview that his actual number of sexual partners was up to 300.

Case history Williams, a native of Brooklyn, led a life of crime since his childhood. The son of a drug-addicted mother, Williams dealt drugs and robbed from the elderly.

Numerous reports indicate that Williams was a crack dealer who bragged of his gang-related activities and had a history of violence against women, including many of the women he infected. Williams' braggadocio and violence belied the ease with which he attracted women of all races and socioeconomic classes, Many of these women continued to have unprotected sex after their diagnosis, spreading the disease to new boyfriends.

The case also raised questions as to whether the state should continue to respect the anonymity of those who test positive for HIV. Prior to the Williams case, health officials believed that publicizing the names of HIV-positive individuals would result in a reduction in HIV testing and subject HIV-positive individuals, particularly members of the gay community, to increased social stigma.

As a result of the Williams case, New York passed a law that mandated doctors and laboratories to report the names of individuals who test positive for HIV. Reporting of partners to physicians is voluntary, but doctors are mandated to report the names of any known partners to the NYS Department of Health. Partners may be notified without the permission of the patient, but the patient must be informed that their partners will be notified.

Continued imprisonment In April 2010, New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo moved to block Williams' release from prison after 12 years and place him under civil confinement under a statute aimed at predatory sex offenders. A judge ordered him remanded to custody pending an outcome of a civil proceeding. By 2010, he had adopted the name Shyteek Johnson again.

, he remains in civil commitment under Article 10 of New York's Mental Hygiene Law.