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CEDAR CITY — A massage therapist in southern Utah has been arrested for allegedly touching a client inappropriately.
And police believe there may be additional victims.
Tyler Trost Braun, 42, was charged Monday in 5th District Court with forcible sexual abuse, a second-degree felony.
According to a police booking affidavit, "multiple female victims have come forward to report that Tyler Trost Braun … sexually assaulted them while they were clients at a local Cedar City massage parlor."
One woman who contacted police agreed to confront Braun about his alleged behavior in a recorded call monitored by detectives. She says she was assaulted in August. During the call, Braun said he was sorry and that he knew she didn't ask for it to happen, the affidavit states.
"She asked him again later in the phone call why he touched her … and he said 'I guess I'm delusional, I think that's probably why it happened.' She told him that this was a sexual touch and it did not feel like it was a mistake. Tyler replied by stating 'Uh yeah, yeah, There's no denying it was anything but a sexual act," according to the affidavit.
The woman then asked Braun if he had touched other clients inappropriately and "he stated that he didn't start with her," the affidavit states.
Braun claimed he had touched other women inappropriately while working as a massage therapist in Vermont. He then read an entry from his journal to the woman about another client whom had confronted him about inappropriately touching her during a massage, according to the affidavit.
"He also read from the entry that this should not have happened and that his behavior should never cause women to sense fear with him. He also wondered in this entry how many other women no longer feel safe with him," the affidavit states. "After he read this journal entry to her he stated that it was an honor to talk to her on the phone and he stated 'I'm at your mercy.'"
Braun was questioned on Friday by detectives and was arrested.
According to the Utah Division of Professional Licensing's website, Braun's massage therapist license expired in May.
