(KPRC) HOUSTON – A man with multiple sexually transmitted and communicable diseases was sentenced to six years in prison for urinating into office workers’ water bottles, resulting in the victims contracting herpes simplex 1 and hepatitis A.
Lucio Catarino Diaz was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to an aggravated assault with deadly weapon charge.
According to prosecutors, Diaz already served more than two years behind bars. He will be eligible for parole after serving three years of his six year sentence.
Disturbing details of case
Houston police said the disturbing occurrences happened at a doctor’s office along Houston’s East Freeway, where the victim was employed for 20 years.
According to court documents, there was a 5-gallon water dispenser at the medical practice that was used by staff and others. It was the type of dispenser that had hot and cold settings and situated in a common area to be shared.
On Aug. 30, 2022, an employee dispensed water from it and noticed it had a funny taste and smell. The woman said, after noticing the water tasted sour, she dumped it out.
From then on, she no longer drank from the dispenser and brought her own water bottle to fill.
The next incident occurred in September of 2022.
The woman said she left her personal bottle, which was half-filled with water, on her desk. When she went to drink the water a day or so later, she noticed it had the same type of funky taste and smell she encountered in the shared dispenser.
She dumped the water out and threw her personal bottle away.
Afterward, she purchased another bottle to bring to work.
One day, a co-worker offered to pour her some coffee in the bottle, but when she removed the cap, she noticed there was a yellowish liquid inside …
