Student Faces Charges In Semen-In-Dressing Case

Student Faces Charges In Semen-In-Dressing Case

Dec 15, 2006 6:06 pm US/Eastern

(CBS) WHEATON, Ill. A high school student is facing criminal charges after school officials say he ejaculated into the cafeteria salad dressing.

Marco Castro, 17, was charged with one count each of attempted aggravated battery and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors, Wheaton police said.

Castro is accused of spiking a container of cafeteria salad dressing at Wheaton North High School with his own semen last week.

He had not been arrested as of Friday, but a warrant has been issued and police said he will likely be processed on Monday.

A letter went home to parents on Thursday, in which principal Jill Bullo wrote that on Dec. 6, the student took the salad dressing container into the boys' restroom, ejaculated into it, and placed it back on the cafeteria condiment table.

The student, a senior, admitted his action after being questioned, and was "appropriately disciplined" by the school, Bullo wrote.

"It is unclear if anyone subsequently used the salad dressing prior to its normal cleaning by food service personnel," Bullo wrote.

Sodexho, the school's food service provider, requires that condiment containers be emptied and washed every other day.

But Bullo said company officials are unsure whether the container was washed Wednesday after lunch. Officials determined that the contents could have been ingested during the last lunch period on Wednesday and during all five lunch periods on Thursday.

The school contacted the DuPage County Health Department, and indicated that it was unlikely any pathogens could survive in the dressing, the student should be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.

He was tested on Wednesday, but the test results will not be back until next week, Bullo wrote.

Several students reported the incident to the dean's office this past Tuesday afternoon, Bullo wrote.

Police were called into the investigation by District 200 superintendent Gary Catalani. When CBS 2 West Suburban Bureau Chief Mike Puccinelli reported this story on Thursday, Catalani did not want to talk on camera and asked to have the story held until the letters were sent out.

But by then, students said, it was too late, and everyone knew about the incident already.

And everyone was universally repulsed.

"The whole school is disgusted," said senior Brian Corcoran.

"That's got to be the sickest thing I've ever heard in my life," said Nick Anderson, also a senior student.

"It's just pretty gross that someone would actually do that," said senior Edward Lee.

"It's been going on for a month. That's what we've all been hearing," said senior Katie Muir, but school officials say their investigation has shown that it happened just once, last Wednesday.

From now on the condiments in all 20 schools in the district will only be available in individual packets or in large containers, making them very difficult to tamper with.

The DuPage County Health Department, in consultation with the Illinois Department of Public Health, issued a statement Thursday about the incident.

"The risk of acquiring a sexually transmitted disease or other disease from the ingestion of food contaminated with semen is considered extremely low," the statement said. "We are not aware of any documented cases of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases that have been spread through this means."

However, the person responsible is undergoing medical evaluation, the statement said. If he has an illness that may pose a risk to others, information will be provided to the parents of potentially exposed students.