A massage therapist was arrested Wednesday at his massage facility in Newhall on suspicion of sexual penetration by force, a felony.
Jorge Panama, 54, of Newhall, was arrested by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
“At approximately 4 p.m., the victim, a female adult, was receiving a massage from the suspect at Stretch Therapeutic Healing, located in the 22000 block of Lyons Avenue,” said Sgt. Brian Hudson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department Special Victims Bureau. “The victim told deputies that during the massage, the suspect sexually assaulted her.”
Officials at the SCV Sheriff’s Station were notified, Hudson said.
After deputies carried out an on-scene investigation, they arrested the suspect, who was still at the location on Lyons Avenue, between Arcadia Street and Newhall Avenue.
The case is still under investigation.
The California Penal Code describes the offence for which the suspect is now accused as: “Any person who commits an act of sexual penetration when the act is accomplished against the victim’s will by means of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six or eight years.”
Bail for the suspect has been set at $100,000.
661-287-5527
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