13 women have filed a lawsuit against several companies after they allegedly contracted a terminal STD from water bottles contaminated by a janitor, the firm says.

HOUSTON – Thirteen women sued several companies after allegedly contracting an incurable venereal disease from water bottles who were reportedly infected by a Houston janitor.

Houston law firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner will hold a press conference at 1 pm Thursday to discuss the lawsuit. KPRC 2 will be live streaming the event.

According to a press release, law firm partner Mo Aziz and attorney Morgan Mills, along with Kimberly Spurlock and Samantha Spencer of Spurlock & Associates, PC, have filed a lawsuit against several companies that are said to have “permitted and ignored the janitor’s disturbing behavior.”

The lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of four women who worked in the east Houston office building where the suspect was located. Lucio Catarino Diaz, 50was a janitor. In October 2022, he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon because court documents allege that his bodily fluids contained herpes simplex virus 1.

The lawsuit alleges that the women, after allegedly coming into contact with water bottles contaminated with Diaz, tested positive for incurable sexually transmitted diseases. Since the lawsuit was originally filed, nine other women who worked in the building have come forward with the same accusations against Diaz and the same diagnoses, the lawsuit says.

According to a press release and court documents obtained by KPRC 2, at the end of August 2022. “multiple copies” where women noticed that the bottled water in their home had an unpleasant odor and taste similar to urine. This prompted one of the women to buy a hidden camera and put it on her desk as the office reportedly had no security cameras.

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According to investigators, the camera showed Diaz walking up to the victim’s table, setting down cleaning products and rubbing his private parts on a water bottle that was on the table. He then turned the water bottle upside down, put it back on the table and continued cleaning, investigators said.

Court documents show that the woman immediately contacted the police, who went to question Diaz. The firm said the woman sent a copy of the video to the building’s management company the following day and told them she would go into the building to notify other residents. In response, the lawsuit alleges that the management asked her not to do this and assured her that she would look into the situation and notify other residents. Later that evening, a woman’s hidden camera caught Diaz doing the same thing, court documents say. It was not until October 3, 2022, six days after receiving the video, that the management company notified the tenants of the building, the firm said.

According to the documents, investigators said that Diaz admitted to doing the act with malicious intent. He allegedly told investigators that he had a “sickness” and did not know how many times he had urinated into the workers’ drinking water supply.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office accepted the charges against Diaz, which were filed on October 13, 2022. He was taken into custody and is being held by immigration.

The defendants named in the civil lawsuit include the building’s owner, the building’s management company, a renovation company, and the cleaning company Diaz worked for.

KPRC 2 has reached out to the companies for comment and will provide more updates if we receive a response.