A 25-year-old Nashville massage therapist is facing three felony counts of rape after a client told police she was frozen with fear and unable to move or speak during an alleged assault at a South Nashville spa. Keenan Tejada was arrested after Metro Nashville Police Department special victims detectives investigated a report that he sexually assaulted a 29-year-old woman during a massage session.
According to WKRN, the woman had gone to Sensation Day Spa for a massage, and Tejada was allegedly assigned as her masseuse. Arrest documents state that Tejada sexually assaulted and raped the woman during the session, and she later told officers she was “frozen with fear” and unable to move or speak during the assault.
After leaving the spa, the woman went straight to Nashville's Sexual Assault Center, which prompted police to be called in and special victims detectives to launch an investigation, according to the seed reporting from WZTV. She reported that she was in fear and shock and unable to move or speak during the assault.
Account Shifted From Denial to Claim of Consent
When detectives tried to interview Tejada, he initially denied having sex with the massage customer at all. He later changed his account, telling investigators the contact was consensual, per the Metro Nashville Police Department report described by WSMV.
Tejada was arrested and charged with three counts of rape and remains in custody on a $75,000 bond, the station's report states. WKRN also reported that a check of the Tennessee Department of Health Licensure website showed Tejada had an active massage therapist license.
Second Nashville Massage-Rape Case in Less Than a Year
This is not the first time Metro Nashville police have arrested a licensed massage therapist on similar allegations. In December, officers arrested Julius J. Hamilton, accused of raping a client during a massage at Escape Day Spa & Salon, according to the same WSMV report.
In that earlier case, Hamilton initially denied wrongdoing but later admitted to the assault once detectives told him they would test for DNA evidence, the outlet reported. He was charged with rape, the outlet reported. Records showed he had been a licensed massage therapist in Tennessee since 2015 with no prior complaints or violations on file.
