Briton suspected of spreading HIV to Swedish teenagers

A British national in his early 30s has been remanded in custody in Stockholm accused of infecting at least two teenage girls with the HIV virus that leads to AIDS, police said Friday.

"In two cases we know for sure that girls have been infected, and we are looking for another 130 girls to find out if they have had sex with the man or just spoken to him," police spokeswoman Diana Sundin told AFP.

The HIV-positive Briton, who has lived in Sweden for more than half his life, met the girls on Internet chat rooms between 2003 and 2006.

Based on material confiscated by police, a list of 130 girls, some in their early teens, has been put together and police are now trying to locate them.

The man was remanded in custody Thursday pending further investigation.

He is suspected of two cases of aggravated assault for spreading the virus, and is also suspected of an undetermined number of cases of aggravated assault and endangering the lives of others.

He has confessed to one case of aggravated assault, Sundin said.

"The sentence will depend on the number of cases he is found guilty of and how the crime is interpreted, but it will definitely mean prison time," Sundin said.