Detroit -- A viral video of a woman claiming to have intentionally infected several Metro Detroit men with the virus that causes AIDS has prompted frantic phone calls to the Detroit Police Department.
The woman's claims are being viewed skeptically by police and health officials, who say it could be a hoax.
Deputy Police Chief James Tolbert said there is a lot of interest in the case from police departments around the country. Although investigators think the video could be a hoax, they are taking the allegations seriously.
"Everybody is concerned that it could be real," said Tolbert on Thursday. "We're giving the case due diligence to try to determine if it's true."
Tolbert said police have received tips from people who said they know who the woman is and that she lives in the city.
In the video posted on the Web site Mediatakeout.com, the unidentified woman claims to have infected more than 500 people since contracting HIV in 1998. Her face is partially concealed by a bandana and the domain for a porn Web site repeatedly flashes on the screen. A clearly visible female who resembles the bandana-wearing woman is featured on a YouTube channel that contains the same name as the porn site.
"I'm pretty upset, so I set out to destroy the world because they haven't came up (sic) with a cure for this (expletive), and now I have to suffer," the woman says.
Tolbert said the department's sex crimes unit has received calls from Metro Detroiters and people from around the country about the woman's disturbing allegations. He said police are investigating whether there are people who were knowingly infected by her.
It is a felony, in Michigan and other states, to knowingly transmit HIV.
Mediatakeout.com's editor, Fred Mwangaguhunga, said the Web site received the video electronically Wednesday. Hours later, a man from Detroit contacted MTO alleging that the woman gave him the HIV virus and that she is from Detroit, said Mwangaguhunga. The man identified the woman in the tape as "Jackie."
Mwangaguhunga said he doesn't believe the woman's story is a hoax because the woman's accusations are so "heinous."
"This is a person admitting to a crime," Mwangaguhunga said of the video, which drew more than 436,000 hits on the MTO Web site and more than 324,000 hits on YouTube by Thursday night. "She's admitted to giving people a death sentence. This is a health emergency."
In 2008, a New York man was charged with making claims that he tampered with baby food to kill black babies. The same man was suspected of making videos that claimed that he gave AIDS to women, and he was later convicted in the baby food case.
University of Detroit Mercy Professor Larry Dubin said since "there is no certainty as to whether the statements made are truthful," it's not clear if she could face charges if police find her.
"If (the video is a hoax), the woman has a bad sense of humor but wouldn't likely have committed any crime," said Dubin. "If truthful, the woman ... should be investigated by the Detroit Police Department to try and determine her identity, and if her statements are true, prosecute her for her criminal conduct."
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