WASHINGTON — A former massage therapist in D.C. has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually assaulting three women last year who trusted him to give them massages.
Upon his release from prison, Habtamu Gebreslassie, 24, will serve three years of supervised release and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
In December, the Silver Spring man pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual assault for attacking a woman at the Massage Envy location in Tenleytown; the attempted first-degree sexual assault of another woman at the same place, and the misdemeanor sexual assault of a third woman at Deluca Massage & Bodywork, near Dupont Circle.
The incidents happened on June 21, Aug. 28 and Sept. 17 of last year.
Two of the victims, Tara Woodley and Charlene March, spoke in court before sentencing.
Woodley, whom Gebreslassie performed oral sex on without her consent, told the court “I’m in a jail of my own.”
Since the crime, she said, she’s suffered panic attacks, can’t sleep and has flashbacks.
But she also mentioned some of the lessons in the Bible’s Book of Luke, including “love your enemies,” adding that the last words she wanted to say to Gebreslassie were “He has my forgiveness.”
March explained that some time after her experience with Gebreslassie at the Tenleytown Massage Envy, she met with the location’s owner to report what happened.
When she found out that Woodley had later been attacked by the same man at the same Massage Envy, March said she was shocked that Gebreslassie had been allowed to keep working there.
March looked back at Woodley and said, “Tara, I’m so sorry.”
Gebreslassie showed little emotion in court, and did not look at the victims in the courtroom. But through an interpreter he said he was sorry for what happened.
Before sentencing, D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz called Gebreslassie a serial sex offender who is a danger to others.
Prosecutors have said that Gebreslassie will likely be deported from the U. S. after serving his prison sentence.
