Spokane7
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October 13, 2010 in City
HIV-positive teen accused of assault
A Spokane Valley teenager with HIV was arrested on assault charges Tuesday, accused of having unprotected sex with two girls.
Edward I. Casto, 19, told his 15-year-old girlfriend he had HIV when their relationship began in May but didn’t use a condom when he had sex with her and didn’t tell her friend, also a minor, that he was infected. The friend had unprotected sex with Casto at his apartment at 12710 E. Shannon. Police seized computers, an iPhone and other electronics Tuesday after learning Casto may have filmed the sexual encounters.
Casto’s girlfriend told police she knew he had HIV but didn’t tell her friend, according to a probable cause affidavit supporting two counts of first-degree assault in Casto. He was ordered to stay in jail on $100,000 bail after appearing in Spokane County Superior Court Wednesday.
Police believe other girls may have had sex with Casto without knowing he has HIV. Possible victims are asked to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233.
Casto has known since he was 13 that he’s had HIV since birth, police said.
His arrest comes less than a week after another Spokane Valley man, Zuriel E. Roush, 23, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for lying to his sex partner about his HIV status. His lawyer said he could be released in about five years.
Human trafficking suspects released 
Bucky on October 13 at 12:44 p.m.
There’s no excuse for this, lock him up for a good long time.
andjusticeforall on October 13 at 12:58 p.m.
Yes, lock him up w/ Big Bubba or Nasty Nate for a very long time.
SpokaneLiberal on October 13 at 1:14 p.m.
It sucks he has had HIV his whole life, but that is not an excuse for putting others in mortal danger. I say attempted 2nd degree murder and assault with sexual motivation. Tack on child porn if he did film it and he won’t get out for 20 years. No threesome is worth that.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 13 at 4:17 p.m.
This is awful. I hope those girls are OK.
OMSJ on October 13 at 4:32 p.m.
During the past 12 months, OMSJ’s HIV Innocence Project has helped defense attorneys force prosecutors to drop all HIV-related criminal charges in twelve cases throughout the US. OMSJ does this simply by forcing prosecutors to prove that HIV tests actually detect HIV. When prosecutors discover that their HIV experts and doctors are reluctant to testify about testing and diagnosis under penalty of perjury, their cases fall apart.
If HIV has posed an existential threat that officials say it is, why are the so-called experts from the NIH and CDC so reluctant to testify under oath about things they’ve declared for decades? And why do they target young healthy black men like Casto?
For more information, google the “HIV Innocence Project.”
MckenzieL1 on October 13 at 5:57 p.m.
um this is my ex boyfriend i was the 15 year old girl he had sex with im 16 now.
i am clean for now and i hope i remain this way i pray to god that i am negative. I still love this guy so much, lesson needs to be learned though
winterfern on October 13 at 8:39 p.m.
The young generation needs to start protecting themselves by wearing condoms. Do you not know that there are other sexually transmitted diseases out there other than HIV. Please!! I am urging all young people and everyone to please wear condoms.
aroundtheheather on October 13 at 11:35 p.m.
I wonder whether the people who are so keen to lock this young man up have thought about whether they have really heard the full story yet. There is a comment on this page from his ex-girlfriend. It takes two to tango and she appears to be trying to say something here. I wonder if she is being allowed to speak up? Let’s hear the Full story before we condemn and also think about how all of us make mistakes in life. Many of us made terrible mistakes ourselves when we were teenagers and then kept on making them into adulthood. What must it be like to be born HIV Positive? As HIV infections are on the rise in our community there will likely be many more cases like this unless we can really start supporting those who are living with the disease and stop making them feel like outcasts. We must also do a better job of educating our teens.
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 14 at 11:32 a.m.
McKenzieL, glad to hear you are OK, and hope things turn out well for you.
HIV is not the automatic death sentence it used to be — from what I’ve read it’s more like a chronic disease like diabetes: you can be fine for a long time IF you stay on your program. (Yay for science!) That said, any diabetic will tell you that having your diabetes under control is still not as much fun & not as healthy as not having diabetes at all. And, like diabetes (type 2 anyway), HIV is avoidable. You can still have “dessert,” but maybe you shouldn’t chow down on every single dessert you see that looks like it might taste good, just because you’re in the mood for something sweet…. if you follow my analogy. (ahem.)
And people who have it need to be aware of their responsibilities too. Having sex w/someone without using a condom is incredibly reckless & irresponsible… even if your partner says “it’s OK, I love/trust you,” even if they say they’re not afraid.
I’m not denying that this guy may have complicated emotional & psychological needs & circumstances that the rest of us can’t understand very well, not having walked a mile in his shoes; but it seems to me that a condition like this requires you to be mature beyond your years. Understand that you can get infected from even “low-risk” activities — there’s less chance of it, but if it happens, you’re just as infected as if you were a gay syringe-sharing prostitute.
So be careful out there. EVERYBODY.
(I understand that I’m probably not telling anybody anything they don’t already know, but I just needed to get this off my chest.)
rockstar2010 on October 14 at 1:20 p.m.
Either way, HIV or not, he admitted having sex with 2 underage girls. That, plus not telling one about it, this dude is sick and needs to be locked up!
Halzberad on October 14 at 4:50 p.m.
MckenzieL1
I am the friend that didnt get told about the HIV. Thanks alot, your a true friend. To everyone writing your comments. she is NOT aloud to be talking about this to the public (According to the law) or i could take her to court. Eddie and her had no right to do this to me. And they are sick people. Theres no excuse for them. Obviously this wasnt the right thing to do on my part. But i thought these people were my friends. And now MckenzieL1 is telling everyone about this situation. Keep it to your self.
MckenzieL1 on October 14 at 5:15 p.m.
He can not Go to jail for having sex with us. he is only 44 months older if he were to be 48 months than he would go to jail.
Everyone makes mistakes in their lives. God will help me through it
mckenziehater1 on October 15 at 12:57 a.m.
You are a disgusting girl. I hope you can’t sleep at night knowing what you did. You knew what you were getting yourself into and don’t try and say you didn’t know because im a female who slept with her boyfriend and 15 and didn’t get all crazy like you. You are crazy and need to seriously think about what the heck you just did to this guy. do not EVER say you still love him you are ridiculous. Grow up and stop making this a pity party for yourself. You made a choice and it may have been the wrong what but deal with it.
MckenzieL1 on October 15 at 6:34 p.m.
no i knew. i never said that it was all his fault; now did i. get that right. you dont know the full story. im not the one who put the charges on him. there were more than one person putting charges on him. he is guilty and there going to find so much evidence. but i cant realize that info. he needs help. they also found another victim. he didnt tell this girl. .this is all in god’s hands and he knows what to do. im not saying im an innocent person. yes ive messed up tons. and ive learned from my mistakes. only if you knew .
mckenziehater1 on October 16 at 9:04 a.m.
Im pretty sure I know wayyy more than you think I know. 1. becuase you dont even know who you are talking to. and 2. I pretty much know everyone involved in this case. I would shut up right now like people are telling you to because leaving comments on here when you are recognized as one of the “victims” is soooo immature and flat out rude/stupid/crazy, but thats what you are so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…get over yourself.
MckenzieL1 on October 17 at 1:18 p.m.
oh hmm did you have sex with him too… im sorry! mckenziehater1 =)
Halzberad on October 23 at 12:27 p.m.
MckenzieL1 your stupid. You need to delete your account on here and leave everyone alone. Mckenziehater1 I feel you. Mckenzie didnt tell me anything and she acts like she did nothing wrong. when she could have prevented all of this from happening.
concern111 on October 28 at 11:42 p.m.
This is really tragic to see. The problem with this whole situation is that people are not recognizing the truth about HIV. Truth of the matter is that most people who know they have HIV and have adequate health insurance are receiving powerful antiretroviral medications. When these medications are taken regularly the viral count in a persons body are so low that they might as well not have HIV at all. The risk posed to someone they have sex with is less than 1 in million. Compare that to the risk there is of getting run over in a crosswalk every time you use one and it becomes pretty clear that this is actually an extremely low risk activity. And that is the risk of contracting the disease not dying from it. Edward is a teen in obviously good health meaning that he has low viral counts. So the girls were basically at no risk at all. The laws surrounding HIV disclosure are extremely outdated and obsolete. It really needs to be based on personal responsibility. People should just know to always insist on using a condom unless they’ve seen a STD test. The girl who was not told is just as guilty as everyone else because she did not practice safe sex. Fortunately for her the only thing she was really risking was pregnancy not HIV. Edward being put in jail is not justice it’s a legal technicality.
hermama_hiswifey1819 on November 03 at 1:25 p.m.
this sucks cuz i knew Eddie. he seemed like a pretty chill guy. but at the same time it shouldn’t of happened he knew what he was doing. i cant feel bad for you MckenzieL1 due to the fact you did know about it. So its you fault to. your not necessarily completely innocent yourself.
hermama_hiswifey1819 on November 03 at 1:28 p.m.
Im sorry this happend tho. Hope everything works out fine. For everyone. Halzberad sorry that happend to you. that was pretty messed up. I would be very mad to. But like i said hope everything works out for all of you.
UW_Students on December 14 at 3:44 p.m.
We are a couple of students at the University of Washington studying Independent Film Making. We are doing a documentary film on HIV/AIDS criminalization/behaviors endangering others and are looking for interview subjects.
We are looking for people who can speak on the matter. That is:
1. Someone who was unknowingly infected with the virus by someone who KNEW they were infected; then pressed charges (successful and unsuccessful prosecution welcomed).
2. Someone who has been accused, charged, and/or prosecuted for infecting another person.
3. Social service providers, medical providers, public health officials, attorneys or judges who have been involved in such cases
4. Police, investigators, healthcare professionals, relatives who witnessed the above prosecutions.
We can be contacted at dplee33@yahoo.com. If you are under the age of 18, please make sure you have permission from your parent or guardian before contacting us for this project.