By Jeff Lipton
The suspect, identified as Adam Stawinski, of 308 Nassau Street, was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 13 and charged with forcible touching,
according to detectives at the 1st Squad. Stawinski will be arraigned in
First District Court in Hempstead on Sept. 8.
The suspect was charged with an incident that occurred on Monday, Aug. 11 at 10:30 p.m. when he allegedly touched a 21-year-old victim in an
inappropriate manner during a massage, investigators said.
Stawinski rented office space on Merrick Avenue in East Meadow, but the police report did not say how long he had been operating from the location.
Police said they are investigating whether there may have been other alleged victims of Stawinski, and 1st Squad detectives urged anyone who feels that they may have been victimized by him to contact them at (516) 573-6153.
Contacted at his home in Bellmore on Sunday, Stawinski said he wanted to respond to the charge against him, but was instructed by his lawyer to remain silent. "I'd love to, but I'm not allowed to say anything,"
Stawinski said.
He referred the call to his attorney, Oscar Michelen, who called "the whole thing a fabrication. My client adamantly denies that he did anything wrong."
He said Stawinski has worked as a licensed massage therapist for about 10 years, and for the past couple of years in East Meadow, and this is the first time anyone has made an accusation against him. Michelen said his client's accuser, who worked in the office with him, asked him to give her a massage, and that no money ever exchanged hands.
"She went home and at no time was there any indication that anything was wrong," said Michelen.
He said police are wrong to request others to come forward if they believed they were victimized by Stawinski.
"That's a very dangerous thing," said Michelen, who added that it may open up other unsubstantiated claims.
"It's a very intimate job," he said of being a massage therapist. "It's the
nature of the job to put hands on people's bodies."
He also found it odd that his client will be arraigned weeks after his
arrest. "If they claim this guy is some sort of sexual predator, why wait
that long to arraign him?" Michelen said.
Comments about this story Jlipton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
