East Valley massage therapist pleads guilty to sex crimes involving 4 women - Yahoo! Voices

[Skylar Heisey, Arizona Republic]

An East Valley massage therapist has pleaded guilty to multiple sex crime charges involving four women.

Raul Perez Ochoa, 47, entered a plea agreement on Monday that will see him serve five years in prison, followed by lifetime probation. As part of the deal, Ochoa will also be required to register as a sex offender.

During the court hearing, Ochoa agreed to plead guilty to four charges: one count of attempted sexual assault, two counts of sexual abuse and one count of assault with sexual motivation. In return, prosecutors agreed to drop seven additional charges, including more severe counts of sexual assault.


The plea agreement was reached after prosecutors had previously suggested the possibility of adding a fifth alleged victim if the case proceeded to trial. By entering into the plea deal, Ochoa avoids the risk of facing these additional charges, though he still faces significant consequences for his actions.

The charges stem from incidents involving four female victims, all of whom reported being assaulted by Ochoa while receiving massages at two different businesses in Queen Creek and Gilbert.

Ochoa has been held without bond in a Maricopa County jail. Sentencing was scheduled to be held on Dec. 6.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: East Valley massage therapist pleads guilty to sex crimes