New York University Waited Months to Tell Cops a Student Set His Classmate on Fire

Back in August, a 19-year-old student fell asleep in classmate Jaime Castano's dorm room, and she didn't wake up when he sang to her—or even when he lit the mattress on fire.

Only after the teenager discovered burn marks on her torso and Snapchat documentation the next day did she realize exactly what had happened.

The craziest part? Castano was expelled from New York University in September, but school officials didn't tell the cops about the fire incident until late October, apparently because the victim was skittish about coming forward.

Castano's Facebook page shows that the 20-year-old, who is from Miami, started working as a real estate broker for Citi Habitats soon after his expulsion. He's also a member of the Facebook group NYU Snaps, which asks members: "Did you spot someone dozing off in class and feel the need to embarrass that person?"

According to the the Real Deal, an archived broker profile suggests Castano showed apartments in Chelsea and Greenwich Village. "I offer clients an unparalleled work ethic, and experience in assisting with the long process of finding the right space and closing a transaction," he wrote on his page. "Everyone deserves that kind of commitment."

Bizarrely, even after the university's months-long delay, police took even longer to get on the case. Castano was just arraigned this Tuesday for first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, and has reportedly admitted he started the fire. He is no longer an employee at Citi Habitats.

On Friday, Castano will finally learn if he's been indicted.

The administrators of the NYU Snaps group did not return immediate requests for comment about whether Castano's horrifying video was distributed through their community. Right around the time of the incident this summer, VICE reported about how teens were lighting each other on fire for a moment in the social media spotlight.

So far, it remains unclear whether Castano's primary motive was getting in on the latest bizarre teen trend. Even if it was, what's most troubling here is that NYU didn't involve the police sooner.

"In retrospect, when the facts became clear, this case should have been reported to the police, notwithstanding the reluctance of the victim," NYU spokesman John Beckman said in a statement Wednesday. "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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