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CARLSBAD —
A man who worked as a masseur in a Carlsbad spa was arrested last week after a client accused him of sexual assault, police in the North County city said Wednesday.
Police have since received additional reports of sexual assaults at the spa, and believe there may be more than one suspect as well as other victims.
The first incident was reported shortly after noon on Friday. A customer of Grotto Spa in Carlsbad’s Bressi Ranch neighborhood called police to report that she had been sexually assaulted by a masseur at the spa about 30 minutes earlier, police said.
The spa, located in a shopping complex on Gateway Drive just off El Fuerte Street, was recently sold and also does business as King Spa. There is another Grotto Spa in the city, but it is not related to the Bressi Ranch location.
Officers investigated the woman’s report and arrested the suspected masseur, identified as Yalong Liu, 50. A records check turned up a felony arrest warrant out of Texas for alleged sexual assault there, police said.
Police said Liu was arrested for the local incident and the Texas warrant. Jail records indicate he is being held without bail, and has a hearing in Vista court Thursday regarding the out-of-state warrant.
After his arrest, other accusers came forward with similar reports of sexual assault at the Bressi Ranch spa.
On Wednesday, Carlsbad police issued a news release announcing Liu’s arrest and asking more potential victims to come forward.
“Based on these additional cases, investigators believe that there could be more than one suspect and there could be additional victims,” the news release stated.
No one who answered the phone would comment when a reporter called the spa Wednesday, and no calls were returned.
Anyone who believes they were a victim of a sexual assault at the Grotto Spa, also known as the King Spa, or anyone with information about a sexual assault that occurred at the location was asked to contact Detective Dzung Luc at (442) 339-2173 or via email at [email protected].
Source: This post first appeared on sandiegouniontribune.com
