East Valley massage therapist sentenced to five years in prison for sex-crime charges - ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix

[Anne Ryman]

QUEEN CREEK, AZ — An East Valley massage therapist has been sentenced to five years in prison in connection to sex-crime charges involving four victims.

Raul Perez Ochoa, 47, will also have lifetime probation and will have to register as a sex offender under the terms of a plea agreement outlined in court.

He agreed to plead guilty to four criminal counts: one count of attempted sexual assault, two counts of sexual abuse, and one count of assault with sexual motivation.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop seven other criminal charges, including the more serious charges of sexual assault.

Police said the incidents involving four women happened at two different massage businesses.

One of those victims spoke at his sentencing Thursday, telling the judge she received a massage as a Mother’s Day gift. That massage ended up in a sexual assault, she said. She said she suffered night terrors and has been in therapy.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be OK again,” she said.

She asked the judge to impose the full, five-year sentence that Ochoa agreed to as part of the plea agreement, calling his actions “violent and calculated.”

“And Mr. Ochoa, even though you’ve never asked, I want you to know I forgive you,” she said in court.

Ochoa, also speaking in court, apologized for his actions. A retired U.S. Army paratrooper, he said he was most proud of the Army uniform he once wore. He was least proud of the orange jail uniform he wears today, he said.

Ochoa received credit for time already served in jail, meaning he is eligible for release in three and a half years.

Queen Creek police received a sexual assault complaint against Ochoa in October 2022, and Ochoa was fired from that job. Police records say the alleged victim declined prosecution, so they closed the criminal case.

A police report says a detective contacted the Arizona State Board of Massage Therapy, which licenses massage therapists but was told in January 2023 that the board couldn’t go forward without the complainant testifying. Police records say she declined to participate.

Ochoa continued working, this time at a massage therapy business in Gilbert, according to police reports. In April 2023, Gilbert police contacted Queen Creek police with information that they were investigating Ochoa for an alleged incident in February 2023. A joint investigation was launched.

As they were investigating, Gilbert police said they received another complaint in May 2023. None of the alleged victims knew each other, police said, giving them probable cause to arrest Ochoa.

In a statement, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said, “This defendant took advantage of these women who had placed their trust in him. This case highlights the bravery of the survivors who came forward to ensure that justice was served, and that this perpetrator could no longer harm others.”

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