O.C. chiropractor charged with molesting 7 patients; investigators say more victims likely

An Orange County chiropractor is facing charges that he sexually assaulted seven female patients in Irvine last year, and investigators suspect he may have other victims out there who did not realize his touches were for his gratification, officials said Wednesday.

Lincoln Esguerra Carillo, 60, has ties to chiropractic offices in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, and in the state of Virginia, where he was arrested last week. Carillo is charged with 23 felony and misdemeanor counts involving alleged sex acts with the seven patients between April and July 2021. But Irvine police detectives and Orange County prosecutors believe other victims are out there.

“Dr. Carillo exploited the high level of trust we place in our medical professionals to prey upon his victims,” Irvine Police Chief Michael Kent said. “I am thankful for the brave victim that had the courage to come forward and expose his pattern of abuse. A tremendous amount of investigative work went into identifying and interviewing Dr. Carillo’s patients to locate additional victims and present a case to the district attorney that would support criminal charges.”

Carillo was brought from Virginia to Orange County on Monday and appeared from the Orange County Jail in court Tuesday. Records show that he remains in custody in lieu of $1-million bail. Carillo is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

The criminal case against Carillo has similarities to the allegations that led to the conviction of Dr. Larry Nassar, a USA Gymnastics trainer, who sexually assaulted gymnasts under the guise of manipulating their bodies. In explaining his work, Carillo has described his expertise "as seeking to reduce pain and discomfort through manipulation and adjustment of the spine."

Carillo was charged with seven counts of felony sexual penetration using a fraudulent representation of professional purpose, four counts of sexual battery involving a person unaware of his actions and a dozen misdemeanor counts of touching an intimate part of another person.

Carillo worked at Twins Chiropractic in Irvine for about four years. According to prosecutors, he treated a female patient multiple times for chronic neck pain between April and May of last year. During seven visits, Carillo is accused of sexually assaulting the woman. The woman reported the sexual assaults to the Irvine Police Department in May 2021.

Irvine police identified six more alleged sexual assault victims treated by Carillo at Twins Chiropractic between January and August 2021, including a woman who required chiropractic care after being injured in a car accident. Some of those incidents occurred in June and July 2021, after the initial police report. In those incidents, he was accused of touching the intimate part of a person a dozen times.

Police have linked Carillo to California chiropractic offices in Artesia, Los Angeles, Fountain Valley, Seal Beach, Long Beach, Irvine, Orange, Upland, Cerritos, Costa Mesa, Placentia, Garden Grove and Riverside, and in Herndon, Va.

Investigators are still examining other potential offenses with the identified victims. One of the unidentified female victims has informed Irvine police that she believes she was molested under the guise of manipulating her body more than 20 times alone in 2021. Prosecutors and Irvine police said they expect to expand the number of charges.

“Vulnerable patients seeking chiropractic treatment for aches and pains should not have to worry about being sexually assaulted,” Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said in a statement Wednesday.

Records from the California Board of Chiropractic Examiners show that Carillo forfeited the license he possessed for 28 years to practice in the state in February. That licensing shows he was also approved to work in Irvine, at Sunrise Health Center in Long Beach and a satellite office in Artesia. Licensing records showed that he was also authorized to practice in and operate an office in Virginia, where he held that license until 2020.

Police records show that Carillo, while in Virginia, was arrested for assault on a family member in 2013. It is unclear how the arrest was resolved.

According to a biography on the Twins Chiropractic website, the father of three was born in San Francisco. He became interested in his medical field after a chiropractor successfully treated the headaches and injuries his parents suffered in a car crash.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.