Auburn massage parlor owner arrested for witness intimidation

A health spa owner has been arrested for allegedly trying to bribe someone by claiming he was sexually assaulted by a massage therapist during a massage at his facility.

Auburn police detectives arrested Chengang Zhu, 52, of Shrewsbury, on a charge of witness intimidation, according to a statement released this week. He allegedly tried to give the woman money in exchange for not reporting the assault.

On October 6, police received several 911 calls from Zhu Relaxation DBA Health Spa at Auburn Mall. A woman in her 30s told police that after she paid for a massage, her massage therapist, Guanyo Gao, 22, of Shrewsbury, pulled down her towel and underwear and touched her inappropriately, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reported. He also allegedly put her hand on his genitals.

On the same day, Gao was arrested for indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age.

he is not the first massage therapist in Massachusetts to be accused of sexual assault in recent years.

In July, massage therapist Yao Zhang was arrested for alleged sexual assault an Arlington woman on a massage table. At the time, he was awaiting trial on multiple counts of indecent assault and battery on another woman in Dedham two years earlier. Zhang, who is undocumented, violated the terms of his release by working at an Arlington salon and was later arrested by Boston Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In January 2023, women sued Massage Envy in Medford for negligence after her therapist, Gilberto DaSilva, allegedly removed a sheet covering her body and touched her sexually. Two days later, DaSilva allegedly raped another woman during a massage. The woman ran away from the massage naked in an escape attempt.

Zhu was arraigned Dec. 11 and released on her own recognizance, according to a statement from Auburn police.

He obtained a business license to operate the spa in February 2020 and renewed it in April 2024, according to a police statement released last year. During the attack in October, Police Chief Todd R. Lemon discussed possible administrative action against the company with an investigator from the Massachusetts Department of Licensing.