(Photo by David Fuentes Prieto/Getty Images)
A Bettendorf massage therapist has agreed to suspend his practice until a criminal charge of sexual assault is resolved.
Court records show that on Nov. 7, 2023, Bettendorf police were called to a business located near a massage therapy clinic on Tech Drive. A 43-year-old woman who was at the scene reported she had just left the nearby massage therapy clinic of 49-year-old Ahmed Khalil Elkhaldy.
The woman allegedly told police it had been her second appointment with Elkhaldy and that at the end of the 90-minute session he had touched her genital area. According to court records, the woman told police she protested, at which point Elkhaldy initiated a series of sexual acts, saying, “Tell me you feel safe,” and, “I’m sorry you’re just so attractive.”
The woman allegedly told police that when she got up and began to leave, she saw Elkhaldy had two necklaces of hers that he had removed prior to the massage, telling her she could only have them back only after performing additional sex acts.
Police records indicate the woman expressed shame for having complied, but added that she felt threatened because Elkhaldy’s massage clinic was in the secluded basement of an office complex, with no windows and only one door, which was locked.
Court records indicate Elkhaldy agreed to be interviewed by police and that he repeatedly denied any sexual contact — consensual or otherwise – with the alleged victim.
Biological samples were taken from the alleged victim and, according to police, forensic testing showed the presence of Elkhaldy’s DNA. In addition, police took photos of Elkhaldy’s nude body, which allegedly showed that his anatomy was consistent with the detailed description given to police by the alleged victim.
The Iowa Board of Massage Therapy recently agreed not to pursue formal disciplinary charges against Elkhaldy, at least until the criminal case is adjudicated, in return for his agreement to suspend his practice.
The police records indicate Elkhaldy resides in Cedar Rapids and commuted to the Bettendorf office to perform massages.
Other massage therapists face allegations
In recent years, several state-licensed massage therapists in Iowa have been accused of sexual crimes or improprieties with clients. Among them:
— Altoona: Earlier this year, the Board of Massage Therapy suspended the license of Junyong Smith of Hudson, owner of Altoona Health Massage. The board alleged Smith removed a client’s undergarments and, without consent, touched his genitals during a massage appointment on Dec. 29, 2022. According to a civil lawsuit filed by the customer, after Smith grabbed his penis she began to perform a sex act on him. The man alleges he ended the massage, ran from the business, and dialed 911. Smith denied the allegations and countersued for defamation. By mutual agreement of the parties, both the lawsuit and the counterclaim were later dismissed.
— Nevada: In 2022, the board charged therapist Hugh Parker of Nevada with making improper sexual contact with a client. It was alleged that in April 2021, Parker, while working at Massage Heights in Ames, touched his fingers to a client’s vagina, at which point she protested. The board later voted to suspend Parker’s license for a minimum of three years, stating that a preponderance of the evidence supported the alleged victim’s version of events.
— Iowa City: Earlier this year, the board sanctioned a massage therapist, Abelardo “AJ” Rodriguez of Iowa City, whom it unwittingly licensed in 2018 despite a history of sex crimes. The board suspended Rodriguez’s ability to practice for five years after a female patient complained he had touched her inappropriately. The board alleged that when Rodriguez applied for a massage-therapy license in 2018, he failed to voluntarily disclose his 2012 and 2016 criminal convictions for harassment. Court records indicate that in September 2015, a woman had complained to Iowa City police that Rodriguez had been sending her “multiple lewd photos of himself” and had exposed himself to her on two different occasions.
— Tiffin: In 2023, the board filed disciplinary charges against Darryl Dodd of Tiffin who had lost his license three years earlier due to sexual impropriety with clients. The older allegations included claims that Dodd, while providing a massage to a female client, exposed the woman’s breasts and said, “You have a nice rack on you,” and, “Can you imagine if someone walked in right now what sex position this would look like?” He was also accused of providing a massage to another woman and touching her pubic area without her consent while commenting how “nice” and “fit” she was. In addition, he allegedly told one female customer in an email, “Anxiety hit me hard as soon as I uncovered your breast tissue,” and then told investigators that after exposing the woman’s breasts he “sounded like a perverted teenager with Tourette syndrome and I could not get myself to shut up.”
The newer board allegations against Dodd involve a claim that he was convicted of an offense related to massage therapy — a claim that appears to stem from his 2023 conviction on a charge of running a massage therapy business without the required permit. A board hearing on the matter was scheduled for September 2023, but the board has not publicly reported any final action in the case.
— Des Moines: Earlier this year, the board suspended the license of Roy L. Milligan Jr. of Des Moines after he was criminally convicted of assault for sexual improprieties with clients. Milligan was accused of massaging the breasts of at least three women without their consent and was charged with three counts of assault. He pleaded guilty to two counts and the third count was dismissed. The board later charged Milligan with unethical conduct related to improper sexual contact with a client. The case was settled with Milligan agreeing to a three-year license suspension.
— Bettendorf: In 2023, Bettendorf police investigated allegations that Darin Oberhart, who was sanctioned by the board in July 2021 for sexual contact with a patient, had improper sexual contact with massage clients when his clinic was operating illegally without the required license. Court records indicate a female client told police Oberhart told her of the health benefits of breast massages and offered to have sex with her. Another woman allegedly told police she and Oberhart had sexual intercourse during a massage appointment and that Oberhart took photos during the session. No disciplinary charges were filed by the board as a result of the 2023 allegations, and there’s no public record of any criminal charges being filed in the case.