HOUSTON — A custodian was arrested after a co-worker accused him of giving her a sexually transmitted disease when he urinated in her water bottle at a Houston medical office building, according to court documents.
Since then, 11 other potential victims have come forward and are continuing to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, court documents say.
Lucio Catarino Diaz is charged with aggravated assault, according to court documents.
Graphic warning: Some people may find the details of this story disturbing.
Investigators with the Houston Police Department said Diaz is accused of urinating in his co-worker’s water bottle and ultimately giving her an incurable sexually transmitted disease.
This happened at an office located on Westmont Drive near the East Freeway in east Houston.
The victim told investigators that in late August she got water from a dispenser but explained that it had a funny taste and smell to it. She dumped out the water and threw her water bottle out.
After that, she said she started bringing her own water bottles to work. She explained to the police that she would bring a water bottle to work and if she did not finish it, she would leave it at her desk for the next day.
A few days went by after the incident with the sour water from the dispenser, she noticed the water she brought from the store smelled nasty as well, court documents state. She then threw the water bottle away but said she could never figure out what it was.
The victim said that in September, a co-worker volunteered to make her coffee, but she told them to use the water from her bottle and not the dispenser due to the smell. Her co-worker looked into her water bottle and asked her why it was yellow.
“I felt disgusted," the victim, who wanted to stay anonymous, told KHOU 11's Jason Miles. “I raised it to my face, smelled it, and it smelled like urine”
A urinalysis was done on the water by the doctor the victim worked for, which confirmed their suspicions.
The doctor then told the victim that it was probably from the custodian. After the victim told some of her co-workers what happened, one of them told her the same thing happened to her.
The victim told police she set up a hidden camera in her office. According to court documents, the suspect was caught on camera entering her office and rubbing his genitals on the victim’s water bottle.
The woman then notified the police the next day and provided them with two water bottles as evidence. When police confronted Diaz about the incidents, he admitted to what he had done.
Police were wearing body cameras at the time of the arrest and questioning.
He also admitted to police that he had done something similar at a previous job where he worked for eight months. Diaz told police he did it out of “malicious intent” and that it was a “sickness.”
Diaz also told police he could not remember how many times he had done this before and that he was not aware of any diseases he had.
Lab results confirmed that the victim had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which she did not have prior to the incident, according to court documents. The suspect also tested positive for the same disease and a second one as well.
“It’s really just disgusting and my client will suffer the consequences of this man’s action for the rest of her life,” said Kim Spurlock, the victim's attorney.
Spurlock plans to file a civil suit against building management and others who she claims ignored her client’s initial concerns.
Diaz is being held on an immigration hold.