Ohio police have reported that a local sex worker had contact with over 200 clients despite being aware of her HIV-positive status. They have issued a notice urging those who engaged in the “risky business” with her to come forward for testing, as stated in a report by the New York Post.
The sex worker, Linda Leccesse, engaged in sexual activities with clients from January to May 2022, the same period during which she took an HIV test and discovered her positive status for the virus, the outlet further mentioned. This is classified as a third-degree felony in Ohio.
Police have begun contacting known clients of Leccesse
According to the Post, Leccesse solicited most of her clients on Market Street in Marietta, a small city in southeast Ohio bordering West Virginia. Still, the potentially affected individuals are believed to be spread across the East Coast.
“This case could stem anywhere from Florida up the East Coast, but there are local individuals that we will be reaching out to,” Washington County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mark Warden stated in a press conference last week.
Police have begun contacting known clients of Leccesse and are also encouraging anyone who may have had contact with her to come forward. Anyone who might have been with Leccesse is asked to be “brutally honest” with officials, according to the Marietta/Belpre Health Department.
“Marietta/Belpre Health Department is a judgment-free zone with full confidentiality,” Health Department administrator Barbara Bradley is quoted as saying by the outlet. Through their investigation, agents have identified at least 211 individuals who had contact with Leccesse, as reported by Fox News.