POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A massage therapist pleaded not guilty in Broward County court Tuesday after deputies said he sexually battered a woman as she lay next to her boyfriend during a couples’ massage.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the incident happened Thursday at Red Rose Massage & Spa at 1201 S. Ocean Blvd. in Pompano Beach. Suspect Anil Nayar told deputies he is “the owner of the facility and is very passionate about his profession,” according to a BSO arrest report obtained on Wednesday, though it’s not clear whether he actually owns the spa.
State records show Nayar, 60, of Fort Lauderdale, got his Florida massage therapist license this year.
Deputies said the victim and her boyfriend went to the establishment at around 6:15 p.m. for the couples’ massage. Nayar massaged the victim while a female massage therapist massaged her boyfriend, the report states.
According to the report, the victim told deputies that as Nayar massaged her leg, he began to get “very handsy,” massaging her thigh and eventually touching her genitals “with his bare finger.”
The victim “immediately stated ‘no, I’m good’ because she was worried about this spa possibly being one of those ‘happy ending’ massage places,” BSO Detective Alyssa Sonn wrote.
Five to 10 minutes later, Nayar massaged the woman’s thigh again and digitally penetrated her, deputies said.
“She sternly stated, ‘I am good, please focus on my feet!’” Sonn wrote.
Deputies said he then massaged her feet, but “prior to finishing the massage, lifted her shoulders until her face and breasts were exposed which she was also uncomfortable with.”
After the massage, the victim asked her boyfriend if they were “kind of handsy” with him as well, asking if he believed it was a “happy ending” massage parlor, authorities said.
The woman’s boyfriend told detectives that he heard his girlfriend say “no, not there” twice, the report states; he said he wanted to go back to the Red Rose and “beat” Nayar but “kept his composure.”
In an interview, Nayar described his massage routine and told detectives there was a “possibility” that he may have “touched or grazed” the woman’s privates, because “he is working high on the inner thigh and the body is oily,” the report states, but claimed it would have been “impossible” to digitally penetrate her.
“He further stated that touching anyone’s vagina would have been unintentional,” Sonn wrote. “He is discouraged to work as a masseuse (sic) and now understands why other massage facilities put higher restrictions.”
Deputies arrested Nayar on a count of sexual battery.
A woman who said she’s the operator of the spa told Local 10 News that Nayar is a “good man” and she does not believe the charges.
“No customer ever complained about anything,” she said.
She echoed the sentiment in court over the weekend.
“I promise he’s a good guy,” she told the judge.
The judge responded, “You’re saying he’s a good guy but, unfortunately, these charges are not what I would call ‘good guy charges.’”
She told Local 10 News that things were normal on the day the couple visited, even after the pair left.
“Why and no talking to tell the guy to stop” the woman asked.
The woman said that the couple paid the tab and tip and left without saying anything. The spa remains open, but the woman said with only female therapists.
The arrest report states that the couple reported it after discussing what happened. Only then did their anger grow and they decided to go to investigators, it states.
A Broward magistrate judge ordered he not return to Red Rose Massage & Spa or give any massages while out on bond. He was also ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Records show Nayar posted a $35,000 bond on Monday.
No future court dates were listed in online records as of Wednesday morning.