Massage Luxe trial: former employee guilty of sexually assaulting customer in 2017 massage...

[massage]

Brooke Baitinger Fort Myers News-Press

Published 7:08 PM EDT May 15, 2019


A jury of three men and three women decided Wednesday that a former Massage Luxe employee is guilty of violating a customer during a massage in 2017.

Marc DeTomaso had testified earlier in the day in his defense, claiming he did not commit a sex act on a woman during the massage at 3300 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs.

A DNA test conducted on the woman after the incident suggests otherwise, prosecutors said.

DNA that matched DeTomaso's was in a rape kit administered on the woman at a rape crisis center after the incident. The former massage therapist from Naples was accused of performing an oral sex act on the woman without her consent.

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A warrant describes the victim's statement after the Feb. 5, 2017 incident. The woman said the massage was mostly over, with about five minutes to go when DeTomaso abruptly forced his face between her legs.

The victim asked him what he was doing and retreated to the bathroom to regain her composure, the warrant states. She then fled the business out of fear that something else would occur.

The victim called her sister, who notified Massage Luxe staff and had them report the incident to the Lee County Sheriff's Office. The sisters met at a rape crisis center.

Staff members advised DeTomaso to stay on scene for questioning, but he left before authorities arrived, the warrant states.

According to statements taken from staff, DeTomaso seemed "very nervous and frantic," cleaning his work scene quickly and going to the bathroom multiple times. He then left the business in a rush without clocking out, speeding out of the parking lot, the warrant states.

Surveillance video from the business shows the victim emerging from the back of the business into the lobby and leaving without checking out. According to the warrant, she appears upset and briefly looks back toward staff members before leaving.

The video shows DeTomaso leaving the business shortly after.

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DeTomaso, 56, testified that he did not leave in a rush, and that he felt he was being "hemmed in" while waiting for authorities to arrive.

"I thought: I've waited here a half an hour, I've gotta get home," he said. "There are other things in life that are important, too."

DeTomaso told jurors he needed to to check on his 87-year-old mother who had been released from the ICU a month prior. He also said he was mad because he "never did anything to offend anyone" and wanted to seek legal representation before speaking with authorities.

DeTomaso testified he did not know how his DNA was in the rape kit, and he suggested it could have been sweat that had dripped from him onto her.

He also testified that while he was giving the woman an abdominal massage, his hand could have come close to the area.

According to the arrest warrant, the woman wore underwear during the massage and was also covered by a sheet.

The woman had received massage therapy by DeTomaso before, the warrant states.

"She went in on three occasions, and on the third, everything was different," said Assistant State Attorney Tyler Lovejoy.

He addressed the level of skill it would have taken to act quickly enough to move the sheet and the woman's underwear to commit the sex act. DeTomaso earlier testified he had performed approximately 20,000 massages in his two-decade career.

DeTomaso's defense attorney, Joseph Viacava, questioned the validity of the woman's claims and indicated the his client's DNA could have been transferred to the victim in a number of ways.

"There's a lot at stake here," Viacava said. "We really feel in a good faith here, that what we've seen here, it doesn't get you there."

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Assistant State Attorney Audra Thomas-Eth asked jurors if it was reasonable that DeTomaso's DNA would have been transferred to the victim during an abdominal massage and then discovered in a rape kit.

"His testimony was not reasonable," she said.

And as the law was closing in on him, he fled, she said.

"They told him to stay. They said the police are coming," Thomas-Eth said. "He sat there for a minute and thought about it, and decided he had better things to do."

Jurors heard testimony from the victim on Tuesday and another woman who filed a complaint against DeTomaso about a month before the incident. That woman said DeTomaso's pants brushed against her face while he was giving her a massage, which made her uncomfortable.

A former Florida Department of Law Enforcement DNA analyst testified about the evidence collected in the rape kit.

Judge Joseph Fuller sentenced DeTomaso to one year in jail, as well as court and medical costs associated with the victim's exams.

Connect with this reporter: bbaitinger@news-press.com, 239-910-1743 or Twitter: @BaitingerBrooke

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