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A judge is not letting a former massage therapist out of jail as he awaits a sex-abuse trial.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz denied bond for Habtamu Gebreslassie, saying that even with a tracking device, he’s considered a threat to his victims and others in the region, according to court documents.
Last month, officials charged the 24 year old with first and second-degree sexual assault counts related to incidents that took place at Massage Envy in Tenleytown on August 28 and September 17. He’s facing charges in two other incidents, as well.
One woman told police that during the massage session in August, Gebreslassie placed something over her eyes, put his face close to her vagina, and touched her beyond her bikini line against her will. She said she reported the incident to the spa’s manager about a week later.
But the next month, another woman alleges that Gebreslassie assaulted her as well, placing his tongue on her vagina during a session at the spa, which is Massage Envy’s first D.C. franchise.
After news broke about the incidents, a spa manager told that Gebreslassie no longer works for the business, but did not respond to questions as to why they did not fire him after the first woman’s complaint. Corporate officials at Massage Envy said in a statement that the company has a zero tolerance policy on inappropriate conduct and they were evaluating to see if the franchise followed proper protocols.
During Gebreslassie’s first court proceedings for the alleged assaults in Tenleytown, two additional woman came forward with similar accusations.
According to court documents, D.C. prosecutors plan to add a third victim to the case who told police that Gebreslassie touched her inner thigh around her groin area against her will during a session at Deluca Massage and Bodywork in Dupont Circle in June. And Maryland officials are investigating a fourth case in which a woman said he touched her inappropriately at Bowie’s Massage Envy location that same month.
Because of these findings, Gebreslassie is “statutorily presumed dangerous” and there is no condition of release that will “reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community,” the judge said.
Gebreslassie’s hearing date is set for January 22.
