Titusville massage therapist to enter plea in cases involving sex crimes against 19 women
A Titusville massage therapist arrested after 19 women came forward in 2020 to report unwanted, inappropriate touches during massage sessions is expected to enter a plea before a judge Tuesday.
Thomas Grasso, 59, of Port St. John, was charged in December 2020 with aggravated battery on a pregnant woman, sexual battery and lewd and lascivious molestation of an elderly or disabled person, court records show.
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Prosecutors, who negotiated with Grasso’s attorneys about the plea, will have the most serious charges of sexual battery dropped in exchange for the plea in front of a judge at the Titusville Historic Courthouse.
The remaining cases include three misdemeanors and one felony. It was not immediately known how much prison time Grasso could potentially receive.
During the investigation that began two years ago, police said 19 women came forward, accusing Grasso of illicit touches during the massage sessions.
Titusville police were initially contacted by a woman who reported that Grasso had given her an inappropriate massage at Dr. Daly’s Chiropractic Clinic at 2708 Garden St. Police said the woman in that case was one of 19 women who came forward with similar complaints.
Some of the women later told police that they did not report the behavior until learning about the other women in the case.
One of the women, who was seven to eight months pregnant, told investigators that in June 2019, Grasso asked to "massage her unborn baby," according to police reports. A number of the complaints centered around Grasso also exposing himself during the sessions.
Titusville police arrested Grasso in December 2020.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida massage therapist accused of sex crimes to appear in court
