Man may have intentionally infected hundreds, if not thousands, with HIV

David Dean Smith, 51, of Comstock Park, north of Grand Rapids, Mich., has been charged with two counts of felony sex offenses after he told authorities he was HIV-positive and had attempted to intentionally infect as many people as he could.

While he has only been charged with two counts of "AIDS-sexual penetration with an uninformed partner," David Dean Smith claims that there may be thousands of victims that he had unprotected sex with. Smith has not indicated precisely when he was diagnosed as being HIV-positive.

However, it appears that Smith has been on his "rampage" for about three years. Smith allegedly told Grand Rapids police last week that he had engaged in unprotected sex with as many partners as he could over the past three years in an attempt to infect them with HIV and kill them, if possible. He estimated the number of partners he has had to be in the "thousands."

Smith is currently being held in Kent County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bond. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Jan. 4 and Jan. 9 in the two counts.

While neither of the two victims that police are aware of has been identified, one has spoken to reporters in an attempt to help alert other women that may be infected.

She said that once she tested positive, she immediately knew it was Smith who had infected her. The two had met via a Yahoo! Personals ad, she said. When Smith turned himself in, he sent her a text message, saying "Turning myself into the law, my life is over. Take care. Always love you."

Turning himself in shouldn't earn Smith any "brownie points," the woman stated. "It's something he should have done years ago," she said. "He shouldn't get a pat on the head for what he did."

She added, "I was diagnosed (with HIV) October 18, 2008. It's hard, though. It's really hard, but support is key and getting the right treatment is key."

According to what Smith told her, he did not attempt to infect just women, but men as well. She said, "He hits drifters. He hits people who are young. He hits young women, and from what I understand, he hits men too. Those are his targets."

Smith has a Facebook page. He has a number of women Facebook friends. It's unclear if any of them are victims of his sexual misconduct.

Most of his Facebook posts seem "normal." He has not posted anything since Nov. 30.

His attorney, Richard E. Zambon, also of Grand Rapids, told msnbc.com that he plans on "exploring all options" in his defense of Smith. Zambon stated that "I am concerned about his mental health."

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