BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston massage therapist is facing charges after State Police said he raped a woman at Logan Airport over the weekend.
Darnell Williams, 29, is accused of sexually assaulting a 25-year-old woman at the Be Relax Message Studio inside the airport’s Terminal B on Sunday night.
Williams, of Dorchester, was arraigned Thursday in East Boston District Court on a single charge of rape. He pleaded not guilty.
Police said Williams, who works as a masseuse at the studio, assaulted the woman during a massage while she was waiting to fly out of the airport. The victim reportedly asked Williams to stop touching her inappropriately but he allegedly refused to comply with her request.
Police said the alleged victim became ill on the flight. She later told family members about it when she arrived home and they contacted state police.
Williams’ defense attorney denied the allegations against him. Prosecutors argued that he confessed to the sexual assault.
The suspect’s mother told 7News after the arraignment that her son did not commit the crime.
“He’s had that job for over seven years. I don’t know why someone would make that kind of accusation about him. He’s not that kind of kid,” Williams’ mother said.
Williams’ bail was set at $5,000 cash. He was also been ordered to stay away from the airport.
The company that owns Be Relax said that Williams had passed a background check when he was hired.
The CEO of Spa Atlantic released a statement about the incident:
“We have a strong company policy in place which requires all of our employees to be properly screened, licensed and trained. They are also subject – before hiring and subsequently every two years – to mandatory background checks by the Transportation Security Administration and fingerprinting by the Massachusetts State Police. We were shocked to learn of these allegations against our employee, and are cooperating fully with all authorities. During their investigation this employee will have no access to any of our facilities or other secured areas of Logan International Airport.”
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