DUNWOODY, Ga. — A Georgia woman is seeking justice after she says she was sexually assaulted by a massage therapist who was both unlicensed and undocumented.
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Podcaster Melanie Avalon said she was assaulted during a Valentine’s Day massage in 2022 at a Dunwoody spa.
“I froze. I was terrified and scared. Then I thought, if I don’t tell someone, this man could do this to someone else,” Avalon said.
Police arrested Iben Franklin Hernandez Bartolon, who did not have a massage therapist license, following the incident.
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Following the arrest, Avalon discovered Bartolon was both unlicensed and undocumented.
In addition, she learned that two women had accused him of doing the same thing the previous year at an Atlanta massage parlor.
Just one year earlier, two women were accused of doing the same thing to two women at an Atlanta massage parlor.
“Their owners and their managers didn’t bother to do a criminal background check,” Mawuli Davis, Avalon’s attorney, said.
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Attorney Mawuli Davis represented the previous two women in a civil case in which a jury awarded them $ 13 million in damages.
He says if the Dunwoody massage parlor had done a 45-second license check or a basic background check, they would have seen issues with Bartolon’s record.
“People are in their most vulnerable state. You let your guard down. You literally disrobe in these spaces because you think you’re safe. And that was betrayed,” Davis said.
Avalon and her attorneys say the system failed. However, they believe that sharing their story and holding those involved accountable may prevent more women from being victimized in the future.
“There are laws to protect you; you can speak up. It’s not okay. And as long as we keep moving forward like this, I think we can really make a change,” Avalon said.