Last week, Texas police arrested a man for allegedly giving a woman herpes by secretly tampering with her water bottle.
The victim reportedly told Houston investigators that in August, she got water from the water dispenser and noticed it tasted odd so she threw out her bottle and started bringing her own bottle to work. She would fill that bottle in the morning, drink it, and leave it on her desk for the next day — only for that bottle to eventually smell weird, according to the Houston Chronicle.
In late September, a co-worker who offered to fill the victim’s bottle with coffee reportedly opened the lid and asked the victim why the water inside was yellow. The co-worker smelled the liquid and determined it was urine, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The victim works at a doctor’s office. A doctor at the office performed a urinalysis test and reportedly confirmed that the liquid in the bottle was urine. Other workers noted that their water bottles also smelled odd or contained yellow water.
The office was not equipped with security cameras, so the victim purchased a hidden camera which she mounted under her desk. On September 30, the woman received video footage to her phone which allegedly showed janitor Lucio Catarino Diaz, 50, putting his genitals in her bottle, recapping it, and putting it back on her desk.
The following day, the victim reportedly gave police two bottles, one bottle containing urine and one in which Diaz put his genitals on.
Officers went to the doctor’s office — where Diaz eventually confessed to tampering with the water bottles because he “knew she would drink it the next day,” according to the Houston Chronicle.
“This individual is a sick man,” the 54-year-old victim told KTRK.
KHOU reported that Diaz not only admitted to tampering with the bottles out of malicious intent, but he also stated that he did the same at a prior job he worked at for eight months. He allegedly claimed his actions were a “sickness,” though he denied being aware of any diseases he had.
The woman eventually told police that she tested positive for an STD and other test results were pending. On October 10, Diaz allegedly tested positive for the same STD, among others.
The Houston Chronicle reported that herpes can be spread via direct contact and bodily fluids. The disease weakens the immune system and is potentially deadly.
“It’s really just disgusting and my client will suffer the consequences of this man’s action for the rest of her life,” the victim’s lawyer, Kim Spurlock, told KHOU.
Eleven additional people have come forward and are being tested for STDs, according to the news outlet.
Diaz was charged on October 13 with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He is currently being held on an immigration hold.
Spurlock told KHOU that they plan to file a civil lawsuit against the victim’s employer for ignoring her initial complaints.
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[Featured image: KTRK video screengrab]
