Police Say Man With Aids Infected Dozens Finns Charge American With Attempted Murder

For months, an HIV-positive man from New York has been sitting in a jail in Finland, charged with infecting dozens of women with the deadly virus.

On Thursday, the seriousness of the case against him became clear, with police saying he faces multiple counts of attempted homicide.

Steven Thomas, 35, was arrested early this year and has been on trial behind closed doors since Jan. 23. But because of the Finnish legal system, the charges had been secret until Thursday.

Officials previously said only that the charges stemmed from Thomas’ having slept with dozens of women who were unaware of his medical condition.

Chief Inspector Terho Maki of the National Bureau of Investigation told The Associated Press that the trial is expected to end late next month. He refused to specify how many women had pressed charges, or how many counts of attempted homicide were involved.

Earlier, he said the numbers were in the triple figures.

“I don’t want to exaggerate or create hysteria, but Thomas must have had sex with at least 100 women,” Maki told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper of Helsinki in January.

Thomas came to Finland in October 1991 and worked as a doorman at bars and popular nightspots, Maki said. Investigators say they have proof that Thomas knew about his infection since early 1993. He faces a 15-year prison sentence if found guilty.

The case has drawn media attention and debate in Finland, partly because Thomas’ picture was published in Finnish newspapers. Criminal defendants are often granted anonymity.

“Helsinki police say that everyone who has had unprotected sex with this man should contact the police,” read one newspaper headline printed next to Thomas’ picture.

Thomas is black, and there was debate in the media over whether publishing the picture represented racial bias in this country filled with fair-skinned, blond-haired people.

Several well-known blacks who live in Finland protested the publication of the picture.

“It was an unfortunate coincidence that Thomas is black,” Maki said. “People may think that there was some other reason for publishing his picture than solving a crime. Any such speculation is justified, but in this case, it’s not true. Everyone is treated equally.”

Finland has one of the lowest number of AIDS cases and HIV infection in Europe. Last year, 25 people died from AIDS, a drop of 20 percent from 1995.