THE WOODLANDS, Texas – We are getting new details about the allegations against Kirinde Saddhanusari, a man who worked at a massage salon in The Woodlands and was arrested after a client accused him of sexual assault.
All this, as a Texas-based attorney is offering to help other potential victims that the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is asking to come forward.
The manager at Oasis Massage Salon, which is registered in Texas as Living Water Day Spa, tells KPRC 2 that she did a criminal background check on Saddhanusari that came back clean. She also said when she hired him, he had a humble and polite personality.
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One thing we found out that he didn’t have, according to Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, is a massage therapy license. The attorney we spoke to says that is a red flag.
“It’s really sad that we are seeing a trend of abuse in the massage industry,” attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel said, who primarily represents victims of sexual assault.
While finding it disturbing, Tuegel says she unfortunately is not surprised to hear about last week’s arrest of the 43-year-old Saddhanusari.
“The trend that we’re sadly seeing is that abuse and people being touched inappropriately, which is a form of abuse and sexual assault when you’re in that vulnerable, frankly naked position,” she added. “It’s also on the businesses to do their job in vetting their employees and acting on any flags or any information that they have.”
We went to the salon and asked the manager about Saddhanusari’s employment and arrest. She didn’t want to go on camera, but she told us that Saddhanusari had previously worked in California.
Despite not having a license, she trained him on the appropriate body parts to work on. She said that he did have some certificates and experience, and that he performed a specialized Indian-style massage. She also said nothing like this has ever happened there, and she fired him right after his alleged victim came out of the room frantically crying.
The manager added that she is cooperating with investigators, who say Saddhanusari confessed to doing this in the past.
“People who are predatory and decide to do that work and hurt people who are in vulnerable positions, there’s often not just one victim,” Tuegel said.
Other potential victims are being asked to contact MCSO immediately. Meanwhile Saddhanusari is still being held in the Montgomery County jail on a $50,000 bond for second degree felony sexual assault.