South Dakota: Briteramos Pleads Guilty in HIV Case

A SiTanka-Huron University basketball player pleaded guilty in Beadle County Court Thursday to having sexual intercourse with a woman who was unaware of his HIV infection. He is the first person in South Dakota convicted of knowingly exposing someone to the virus. The guilty plea means that he will face 15 years in prison and a $15,000 fine at sentencing on Aug. 20.

Beadle County State's Attorney Mike Moore said Nikko Briteramos, 19, of Chicago donated blood in February, and officials discovered HIV during routine testing of that blood. Moore said Briteramos had been counseled about HIV but had sex with a woman, known only as M.T., and did not tell her of his infection.

M.T. told the grand jury on May 2 that she had unprotected sex several times with Briteramos and did not know that he was HIV-positive. She has tested negative for the virus. With the plea decision, she will not have to testify in open court. In exchange for the guilty plea, the prosecutor agreed to forego a sentencing recommendation.

Briteramos, who is 6-foot-7 and was a freshman center on the SiTanka-Huron University basketball team, refused to speak with reporters after the hearing. He is free on a $10,000 cash bond but cannot leave South Dakota.

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