SARASOTA, Fla. — A Sarasota massage therapist accused of sexually battering a patient during a massage at a chiropractor's office is scheduled to stand trial in December.
Investigators say that after one woman came forward, they uncovered allegations from other patients dating back years.
Watch report from Adam Walser
The case has now sparked a civil lawsuit and an effort by the state to revoke his massage license.
The arrest
Sarasota Police body camera footage shows a startled Juan Carlos Fleitas-Tamayo being arrested in February 2025.
"Good afternoon sir. Hey, you're under arrest. Can you step out with me?" an officer said during the arrest.
Fleitas-Tamayo, 54, faces a felony charge of sexual battery.
The charge stems from an October, 2024 incident at the Dr. Moscow and Associates Chiropractic Clinic, where Fleitas-Tamayo was treating a patient who was injured in a car crash.
What the first patient described
During a recorded police interview, the woman described becoming uncomfortable during her appointment.
"I just have this feeling that OK, this isn't right," the woman said.
When the officer asked if it seemed weird, she replied, "Like are you coming on? What's going on?"
The woman said Fleitas-Tamayo touched her chest and later pinned her to the table with his body. His arrest report shows he stands 6-foot-3 and weighs 250 pounds.
"He puts like his chest that pressure on me, and then I start feeling him like kiss me. And I'm like, what is going on?" she said.
The woman said Fleitas-Tamayo exposed himself within inches of her face.
She told the officer she canceled her future appointments and didn't tell anyone at the clinic what happened until a staff member contacted her weeks later.
"I told her what happened. And then she said there's been two other people," the woman said.
The woman then called police, who charged Fleitas-Tamayo with sexual battery.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
More accusers come forward
Police say the case did not end when the first woman came forward. As detectives investigated, they began uncovering allegations from other women who described encounters dating back years.
One of those accusers encountered Fleitas-Tamayo at the same chiropractor's office. She agreed to an interview on the condition that we don't show her face or use her name.
She said she started going to the clinic after a car accident. The woman said she had never received a massage before, but said Fleitas-Tamayo gained her trust over multiple appointments.
"We talked about his kids, his family, his home. He showed me pictures," she said.
But then she said he began pushing boundaries.
"He seemed to get closer to my breasts and I'd pull away. I go, what are you doing?" she said.
A Department of Health report said she reported that "he pulled down her pants and massaged her buttocks."
She also described another incident documented in that report.
"I fell asleep and he was massaging me really hard. I normally don't fall asleep," she said.
"I heard the noises and him huffing," she said. "And I woke up and he was pulling his pants up."
She said Fleitas-Tamayo never acknowledged what happened.
"No. Nothing. I just got up and left. I mean, what do you do in a situation like that? I didn't know what to do," she said.
A pattern of allegations
The two women are among four cited in a Florida Department of Health administrative complaint, which alleges violations from as early as 2020.
"I don't understand that. So how many women has he done this to?" the second woman said.
His arrest affidavit says Fleitas-Tamayo was fired from a previous job at Carle Chiropractic after staff discovered that he inappropriately touched a co-worker and a patient there.
Carle Chiropractic, which now goes by a different name, didn't return our call.
The response from the accused and the clinic
Fleitas-Tamayo, who is free on a $40,000 bond, originally agreed to an interview but later canceled on the advice of his attorney.
He told the I-Team he is innocent.
Moscow Chiropractic office manager Louisa Moscow declined an on-camera interview, citing a civil lawsuit that names the practice as a defendant.
Meanwhile, the state is seeking discipline that could permanently revoke his massage license at the conclusion of his criminal trial.
"If it happened to these two girls and it happened to me, who else?" the first woman said.
When asked what she would say to people who find themselves in a similar situation, the second woman said, "I would just call the police."
She said she wished she had.
What happens next
The criminal case against Juan Carlos Fleitas-Tamayo is currently set for trial in December. Court records show the civil lawsuit is also moving forward.
Sunbiz records show he previously operated a massage business in Miami Beach, but he was never charged with a crime there.
If you believe you were also a victim of Fleitas-Tamayo, you can contact Detective Angela Cox at the Sarasota Police Department. Her phone number is (941) 263-6075.
If you believe Fleitas-Tamayo violated state regulations as a massage therapist, you can contact the Florida Department of Health.
Share Your Story with Adam
Adam Walser has spent more than a decade fighting for what’s right in Tampa Bay as part of the I-Team. He’s helped expose flaws in Florida’s eldercare system and held leaders accountable for questionable HOA practices. Reach out to Adam with any issue you think he needs to investigate.
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