Tulsa County DA Charges 3 Men With Inappropriate Touching During Massage

Wednesday, August 24th 2016, 7:53 pm

By: News On 6

The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office has charged three men with inappropriately touching women during massages.

They say the men worked in three different legitimate spas in three different parts of town.

It seems to go like this: during a massage, the massage therapist grazes up against something and you think it's not quite right, but you think it's inadvertent so you don't say anything, but these particular people seem to take that as a green light to do something more invasive.

The DA says if that’s what happens, you need to notify the establishment and call the police.

The DA says they've had three cases in the past three years.

They say Dominic Salazar worked at a beauty college in east Tulsa. Records show DNA tied him to a sexual battery. He pleaded guilty and got a five-year suspended sentence.

A few months before that, a woman went to a downtown Tulsa spa for a massage and says she was sexually assaulted.

Prosecutors charged Larry Griffin with rape by instrumentation. He pleaded not guilty and goes to trial in December.

"You're in one of the most vulnerable positions you can be in as a person. You're undressed on a table with a stranger,” Tulsa County Assistant District Attorney, Heather Anderson said.

Anderson is part of the DA's special victims unit that focuses on sex crimes.

"I often hear victims of sexual assault say they froze, didn't know what to do, and there's the shame that goes along with being a victim of assault. They wonder, what did I do or could I have done," she said.

The third case happened a few months ago at a spa at 101st and South Memorial.

Prosecutors charged Jack Smith with rape by instrumentation and a judge recently ruled there's enough evidence for Smith to stand trial.

Calling police and filing a report could not only get justice for you but could also prevent someone else from being a victim.