NYU Student Arraigned After Setting Classmate on Fire, Posting Clip to Snapchat

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A NYU student appeared in court on Monday to face charges for setting an acquaintance on fire over the summer. 

CBS New York reports that the intoxicated 19-year-old victim fell asleep in 20-year-old Jaime Castano's dorm room on Aug. 23. When she awoke the next morning, she noticed burn marks on the bed, comforter, and her body. The woman was reportedly left with scarring to her torso, and wasn't aware of exactly what happened until seeing a Snapchat video posted by Castano. Castano later admitted to setting the bed on fire and filming it while singing: 


Castano also allegedly admitted that he took a cellphone video showing the woman asleep in his bed with her clothes engulfed in flames while Castano sang, prosecutors said. The video also showed the woman waking up and trying to put out the flames while Castano recorded it, prosecutors said.

Castano, who the New York Daily News reports was expelled from NYU in September, was charged with first-degree assault and reckless endangerment. The Daily News also notes that that the school neglected to report the crime to police until Oct. 27—a little more than two months after it happened. 

At Castano's arraignment, a judge ordered him held on $50,000 bond. 

[via CBS New York and New York Daily News]

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