kontulib
December 14th, 2002, 04:54 AM
HIV-positive man arrested for rape and attempted homicide
A man who has been diagnosed as HIV positive has been remanded in custody on suspicion of three counts of attempted manslaughter and three rapes. The 50-year-old African-born musician was remanded two weeks ago by Espoo District Court.
Police say the acts took place in 1997, 2001, and 2002. Two of the victims were 16 years old at the time of the suspected crimes, and one was 24.
The suspect had met the women in in Helsinki restaurants, and lured them to his apartment in the south of Espoo, where he had offered them drinks - possibly spiked with some kind of a drug.
Police believe that he then took sexual advantage of the women's confused state of mind.
The head of the investigation, Jukka Kaski of the Espoo police, said that the police got wind of the suspect's activities when a 16-year-old victim came forward in May this year.
Another incident that took place in 2001 had also been reported to the police, but no suspect had been identified. However, the modus operandi was similar, and further investigations also brought to light a similar event from 1997.
The incidents were under investigation already in the summer, and the suspect was briefly detained at one point.
During the investigation it came out that the man is HIV positive, and that he had been diagnosed with the virus already in 1995. He is known to have engaged in unprotected sex after being diagnosed.
When his diagnosis was revealed, the man was arrested again. Police say that it is still not certain if any of the victims were infected.
The suspect, a dark-skinned male who wears his hair in dreadlocks, is a Finnish citizen. He has lived in Finland for about 20 years.
Jukka Kaski believes that there could be other victims, and recommends that women who think that they might have been sexually intimate with the suspect should get tested for HIV, and if necessary, call the violent crimes unit of the Espoo police: +358 9 525 4380.
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A man who has been diagnosed as HIV positive has been remanded in custody on suspicion of three counts of attempted manslaughter and three rapes. The 50-year-old African-born musician was remanded two weeks ago by Espoo District Court.
Police say the acts took place in 1997, 2001, and 2002. Two of the victims were 16 years old at the time of the suspected crimes, and one was 24.
The suspect had met the women in in Helsinki restaurants, and lured them to his apartment in the south of Espoo, where he had offered them drinks - possibly spiked with some kind of a drug.
Police believe that he then took sexual advantage of the women's confused state of mind.
The head of the investigation, Jukka Kaski of the Espoo police, said that the police got wind of the suspect's activities when a 16-year-old victim came forward in May this year.
Another incident that took place in 2001 had also been reported to the police, but no suspect had been identified. However, the modus operandi was similar, and further investigations also brought to light a similar event from 1997.
The incidents were under investigation already in the summer, and the suspect was briefly detained at one point.
During the investigation it came out that the man is HIV positive, and that he had been diagnosed with the virus already in 1995. He is known to have engaged in unprotected sex after being diagnosed.
When his diagnosis was revealed, the man was arrested again. Police say that it is still not certain if any of the victims were infected.
The suspect, a dark-skinned male who wears his hair in dreadlocks, is a Finnish citizen. He has lived in Finland for about 20 years.
Jukka Kaski believes that there could be other victims, and recommends that women who think that they might have been sexually intimate with the suspect should get tested for HIV, and if necessary, call the violent crimes unit of the Espoo police: +358 9 525 4380.
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