Harsher charges brought against massage therapist accused of fondling clients - The G

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Lawrence Howard UrbanCourtesy Photo*
GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP, MI – The prosecution has turned up the pressure for the former Cascade masseur accused of fondling two women who used a coupon to get a massage.
Lawrence Howard Urban is charged with three counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly inappropriately touching two women who came to Theraputic Stress-Free Massage, 6701 Old 28th St. SE, near Cascade Road.
The women said between January and March, they were taking advantage of a deal they found on the website Groupon.com, but while getting the massage, Urban touched their private areas and breasts.
Urban was in Kent County District Court on Monday, Oct. 28 where Chief Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Becker offered the 50-year-old the opportunity to plead guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a sentence recommendation of 12 to 24 months behind bars.
Second-degree criminal sexual conduct is a felony, while fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct is a misdemeanor.
However, Becker said if Urban does not agree to the deal, the defendant will be charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years or more if Urban is convicted as a repeat offender.
Unlike the second and fourth-degree charges, third-degree CSC involves penetration.
Urban and his attorney, Jolene Weiner-Vatter, waived a probable cause hearing before Judge Sara Smolenski in order to keep the prosecution offer on the table.
According to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department, Lawrence admitted to touching one woman's genitals without her consent as she was lying face-down on a massage table.
He also allegedly asked one woman if she wanted an orgasm. She declined the offer.
“Your body is telling me one thing, but you are telling me another,†Urban told one of the alleged victims, according to police.
The defendant allegedly told police he was given “every indication†— through the woman’s body language and the way her muscles felt — that she wanted to be pleasured sexually.
Related: Accused massage therapist tells police woman's body language spurred him on
Earlier this month, Urban – a Burton Heights resident who who now sports a wig in court appearances – was found competent to stand trial by a state mental health expert.
Urban is charged as a repeat offender due to a 1981 conviction for marijuana dealing in Jefferson County, Texas.
Because he waived the probable cause hearing, Urban’s case now moves on to Kent County Circuit Court where it will be scheduled for trial before Judge Mark Trusock, unless Urban agrees to the plea offer.
E-mail Barton Deiters: [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/GRPBarton or Facebook at facebook.com/bartondeiters.5