Massage therapist facing new charges after another victim comes forward

Image 1 of 4

A D.C. massage therapist arrested with sexually abusing a female customer is facing new charges after another person came forward to police reporting a similar incident.

On Monday, 24-year-old Habtamu Gebreslassie was charged with first-degree sexual abuse of a patient or client for a massage that took place at around 1:45 p.m. Sunday at Massage Envy in the 4900 block of Wisconsin Avenue in Tenleytown. He is also facing an additional charge of second-degree sexual abuse.

The victim in this case told police she was receiving a massage from Gebreslassie when he placed his tongue on her genitals.

According to court documents, Gebreslassie has denied the accusations and said he only massaged the customer's arms and neck before stopping at the request of the client.

According to a D.C. police public incident report, another victim reported during a massage that Gebreslassie placed his face close to her vaginal area and touched her beyond the bikini line against her will. This allegedly happened on Aug. 28.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said Gebreslassie is being charged with attempted first-degree sexual abuse of a patient or client and attempted second-degree sexual abuse for the August incident.

After Gebreslassie's arrest, Massage Envy said on Monday that he was fired from the job.

He is currently being held and is due in court on Thursday for a preliminary hearing.