A prosecutor said this week the District Attorney’s Office will go forward with six criminal counts against a suspended beijing massage therapist accused of improperly fondling six of his female clients earlier this year.
Assistant District Attorney Ben Johnson said Tuesday that prosecutors plan to pursue the charges against the Gonzales man despite a ruling last month that there was probable cause for only two of the six counts.
The 23rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, through a bill of information, charged Jason Hood, 34, on Aug. 31 with one count of sexual battery and five counts of prohibited massage/sexual conduct.
The charges arise from incidents in May and July that some of Hood’s clients at Elegant Touch Nail Salon and Spa in Gonzales alleged after an investigation by city police, police have said.
Judge Ralph Tureau of the 23rd Judicial District — which encompasses Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes — ruled after a Nov. 9 preliminary exam that there was probable cause for the sexual battery count and for only one of the five sexual conduct counts.
In criminal cases, preliminary exams determine whether law enforcement has probable cause to arrest and hold a person on the charges brought. The standard is less than what is needed for a conviction.
During the preliminary exam, Public Defender Jarrett Ambeau questioned Gonzales Police Sgt. Steve Nethken about the alleged victims’ statements and whether what happened was actually criminal in nature.
Johnson, the prosecutor, said Tuesday that investigators have more evidence against Hood than was presented during that preliminary exam and they plan to conduct more-extensive interviews with the alleged victims.
Ambeau declined comment Tuesday on Johnson’s decision.
Hood, whom Gonzales police arrested July 16, has pleaded innocent to the charges and has been out on a $60,000 bond since July 17, court minutes and parish jail booking records show.
Meanwhile, the Louisiana State Board of Massage Therapy, which oversees licensed massage therapists, brought seven civil charges against Hood in October, according to a board letter.
In a Nov. 13 hearing, the board suspended Hood’s license pending the outcome of his criminal charges, Donnie Floyd, board counsel, said in an early November interview.
The board heard from one of the alleged victims in Hood’s criminal case, Floyd said, but Hood was not present. The hearings are closed to the public, Floyd said.
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