A supermarket worker gave a shopper a sample of yoghurt mixed with his semen.
Anthony Garcia admitted handing out the semen-tainted sample while working at Sunflower Market in Albuquerque, New Mexico – an act federal prosecutors deemed "sickening and appalling."
A female customer was the unfortunate recipient of the sample, which was handed to her on a plastic spoon.
She told police after tasting the sample that she had spat on the floor several times and wiped her mouth on the garment she was wearing to get the taste out of her mouth. Investigators collected samples of the woman's spit from the floor and took the garment she was wearing as evidence.
DNA samples linked Garcia to the semen in the yoghurt. Authorities said Garcia then lied to investigators about the case.
Garcia, 32, pleaded guilty to charges of adulterating food and making false statements to federal investigators.
Speaking after Garcia’s trial in a US Federal court, the US Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said, "The criminal conduct to which Anthony Garcia pleaded guilty today is completely outrageous.
"No one should have to endure this type of experience simply because she or he accepts a food sample while shopping for groceries."
Garcia now faces up to three years of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in July, and remained detained pending his sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled.
