Published: January 22, 2015
New York University admitted Wednesday to waited over two months to report a student who allegedly set a classmate on fire and then videotaped her as she screamed.
Jaime Castano was arraigned Tuesday on assault charges stemming from a surreal attack allegedly committed last August. According to prosecutors, an intoxicated 19-year-old student was asleep on a bed in Castano’s dorm, which prompted him to set the bed on fire. He then used the Snapchat app on his cell phone to film the student as she awoke, and crooned in a sing-song voice as she screamed and tried to put out the flames. The student suffered from severe burns.
Castano now faces up to 25 years in prison for the most severe charge.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said Wednesday in a statement that the elite private college took student Jaime Castano’s alleged attack last August seriously from the outset, rapidly initiating disciplinary proceedings that led to his expulsion. However, the police were told nothing for over two months, he admitted.
“In retrospect, at least when the facts became clear, this case clearly should have been reported to the police, notwithstanding the reluctance of the victim. We are conducting a full investigation as to how a different decision was made in this case and clarifying our decision-making process so that cases like this are reported to the police immediately in the future.”
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