MIAMI, FL— July 21, 2011 – A California man employed as a masseur at a Seal Beach spa faces three felony charges after three women accused him of sexually assaulting them during massage treatments. According to information provided by the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County DA Office urged any additional sexual assault victims to come forth and report their cases to authorities.
Officials from the Orange County district attorney’s office recently charged Jason Michael Elliott, a 28-year-old Sunset Beach masseur, with “three felony counts of assault with the intent to commit a sexual offense.”
Although the first victim reported her case to the Seal Beach Police Department in Nov. 2009, Elliot apparently worked as a masseur at the Seal Beach-based Massage Envy spa between August 2009 and April 2010. Prosecutors stated that the Orange County masseur was fired after his employers were informed of the sexual assault accusations pending against him.
Prosecutors also told reporters from the Huntington Beach Independent that an investigation into the first alleged sexual attack appeared to connect Elliot to two additional workplace assaults.
Reports suggested that although the accused masseur managed to post $100,000 bail, he could face up to eight years and eight months in prison if convicted of the offenses. The sexual assault case is underway.
National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention statistics suggested 17.7 million American women (1 out of every 6 females in the U.S.) have been victims of attempted or completed rape.
According statistics posted on the website for the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence (FCASV), a total of 11,214 sexual assaults were reported statewide during the year 2007. Forcible sex offences resulted in 3,064 Florida arrests that year.
About the Miami Sexual Assault Lawyers and Personal Injury Attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A.
Working closely with advocacy groups such as the National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC), the Miami sexual assault attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz are dedicated to protecting and enforcing the rights of rape and sexual assault victims. With more than 30 years of experiencing litigating a variety of complex injury and assault claims, the Florida injury attorneys of Gerson & Schwartz, P.A. will fight to help victims of sexual assault and rape obtain the justice a compensation they deserve.