Lawsuit: Houston Office Custodian Allegedly Peed in Workers' Water Bottles Giving Them STDs If you work in an office, this story will ruin your day.
By Dan Bova
Did you read yesterday's story about a kind-hearted farmer who secretly paid his neighbors' pharmacy prescriptions for over a decade?
If that story left you feeling warm and fuzzy, the one you're about to read will do the exact opposite. You have been warned.
According to Fox 26 Houston, a lawsuit was filed against multiple companies after a custodian named Lucio Catarino Diaz was arrested for allegedly peeing office workers' water bottles and giving them STDs.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of 13 women who allegedly suffered the attacks from Diaz, who has Herpes Simplex 1 Virus, an incurable sexually transmitted disease.
One of the attorneys representing the women, Kimberley Spurlock, told reporters, "It's not only terrifying but somewhat humiliating for them."
She continued with a statement written by one of her clients, "His disgusting actions have left many of us with permanent health concerns."
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Diaz was arrested following a hidden camera sting. After a worker noticed that the water in the bottle on her desk tasted foul, a colleague hid a camera on her desk. According to Fox 26, the video they saw the next day revealed Diaz doing unimaginably disgusting things with the bottle before returning it to its spot on the desk. (You can read the details here if you want to have nightmares tonight.)
According to the lawsuit, upon watching the video, the horrified women shared it with building management. They did not inform the police and it took six days to inform other tenants of the building — and only after Diaz was caught in another hidden video giving a repeat performance.
"He was allowed to come back in, and he continued to conduct himself this way and who knows how many people picked up their water bottles during that six days and were affected by his actions," Spurlock said.
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After admitting his crime, Diaz was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (the weapon being his bodily fluids which contained the virus).
The lawsuit was filed against the owner of the building, the building's management company, the maintenance company, and the cleaning company that employed Diaz.
I think it goes without saying, we will no longer be leaving water bottles sitting on our desks overnight.
