DC massage therapist charged with sexually assaulting 2 women: court documents
WASHINGTON - A D.C. massage therapist has been arrested and charged after police say he sexually assaulted two women while working.
Police say the assaults happened in May and October 2023.
According to court documents, 50-year-old Juan Del Risco Hernandez is a licensed massage therapist who worked at a Northwest D.C. spa and also did business through the ‘Soothe’ app, which allows clients to book on-demand at-home mobile massages, facials, haircuts and more when the assaults occurred.
In the first assault, police say Hernandez was working at the Relax Massage Spa in the 1700 block of Columbia Road, Northwest when a client came in around 8:30 p.m. on May 29.
The client told police that she had received multiple massages from Hernandez at the spa before but in this instance, he sexually assaulted her while she was lying on her stomach.
The victim told police that at the time, "she did not know what to do" and "wanted to just act like she did during the prior massages," an affidavit reads. So she put her clothes back on, paid and tipped Hernandez and left the business. She later blocked him and told her friend, a witness and her therapist about what happened.
The affidavit states that the victim did submit a complaint to the Board of Massage Therapy but did not move forward with the report because she was concerned about having to confront Hernandez.
The second assault occurred on Oct. 13. That victim told police she too had received multiple massages from Hernandez before and placed a request for a 90-minute massage through the Soothe app that evening.
Police say Hernandez accepted the request and arrived at her home in the 1700 block of Lanier Place, Northwest at approximately 7 p.m. During the massage, the woman told police that Hernandez exposed her and repeatedly touched her inappropriately.
According to the affidavit, the victim allowed Hernandez to finish the massage as she considered how to safely address the situation. After he left her home, the woman contacted Soothe and asked to have the defendant blocked.
She reported the assault to police three days later and they began their investigation into the suspect. Police interviewed Hernandez on Nov. 6. He admitted to being in the second victim’s home and that she had asked him to move away from her "private area."
Detectives followed up with the second victim on Jan. 11 and spoke to the first victim on Jan. 22.
Following this investigation, warrants were obtained for Hernandez on Feb. 6. He was charged with first-degree and second-degree sex abuse of a client.
Anyone who has had contact with Hernandez and believes they are a victim is encouraged to call the Sexual Assault Unit at 202-727-3700.