Four more women have alleged they were groped by a Shelton salon employee, police said last week.
Shelton Detective Richard Bango would not release additional information about the new allegations, other than that police are investigating.
The accusations could lead to more criminal charges against Hyungchan Kim, 53, of Queens, N.Y.
Kim’s lawyer, Sung-Ho Hwang, said he could not comment because he is still looking into the allegations.
“We’re still doing the investigation and it’s important that your readers understand there’s a presumption of innocence,” Hwang said.
Kim was working as a massage therapist at Coco Spa, 704 Bridgeport Ave., until police started investigating sexual assault complaints from two women.
He was charged July 5 with two counts of fourth-degree sexual assault and two counts of practicing massage therapy without a license.
He is free on a $5,000 bond and is due in court in Derby Aug. 5.
Kim allegedly groped a woman who had a tumor in her breast and another woman suffering from lupus, according to arrest warrants on file connected to the case.
The woman with lupus went to Coco Spa in early May to get a message that would help her cope with pain from the disease.
Kim was known as “David” to his clients.
She had received previously massages from “David,” but this time he allegedly tried to kiss her before touching her vagina with a hot stone through a towel.
She stopped the massage, got dressed, paid and left. She filed a complaint with police the same day.
Shelton police spoke with Coco Spa’s owner, who told him Kim had been working there for more than a year.
The accusation surprised the owner, though he also told police one of Kim’s clients had previously complained that he inappropriately touched her. The owner didn’t think it was true, according to court documents.
According to police, Kim denied trying to kiss the victim and denied touching her private parts. He said the woman left him a $20 tip — a statement the victim told police wasn’t true.
In late May another woman filed a complaint with police about Kim.
She alleged Kim painfully massaged her breasts. She told him to stop. He said he was checking for tumors, the second victim allegedly told police.
The victim told him he was hurting her because he was, in fact, rubbing a tumor in her breast.
The victim said she felt dominated and powerless during the incident, according to the warrant.
The woman felt like she was in shock. At that point she just wanted to get out of the place, so she paid and left, according to the warrant.
“When I got home I was confused as to whether I should report this or not,” she allegedly told police.
She decided to report the incident after she started to cry while telling two friends what happened.
Kim allegedly told police he touched part of the woman’s breast as part of the therapy — and that he told the victim he felt a tumor. Kim allegedly told police he was trained to do so, and produced a diploma from a program out of New Jersey.
However, the police investigation revealed Kim didn’t have a massage therapy license on file in Connecticut.
Police talked to Coco Spa’s owner on June 7 and asked if he was aware Kim didn’t have a license.
The owner said he didn’t know until after the investigation started. A detective told the owner Coco Spa could not allow Kim to perform massages without a license.
The owner said he was aware “and would be letting (Kim) go.”
The Valley Indy left a message for the spa’s owner Thursday morning.
