Tulsa Massage Therapist Arrested, Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 2 Women

Tulsa Police have arrested a massage therapist accused of sexually assaulting two women during massages at a spa near 91st Street and Memorial Drive. Authorities say one woman was assaulted in May, and the other earlier this month.

An affidavit states that an employee had complained to spa managers about the therapist, Wesley Cole, as far back as February. Special Victims Unit detectives are urging any other potential victims to file police reports.

Cole was arrested after a woman reported earlier this month that she had been sexually assaulted during her appointment at Spa Lux. According to the affidavit, a victim had filed an online report in May about a similar assault, but there wasn’t enough information at the time to begin an investigation.

“With how underreported sexual assault is, it’s important to make reports. What we see in sexual assault investigations is if there is one victim, there is an extremely high likelihood that there is another victim,” said Lt. Darin Ehrenrich of the Tulsa Police Department’s Special Victims Unit.

In the most recent incident, the woman told police that Cole pulled her hair, grabbed her throat, and molested her. “Mr. Cole is a large man. He’s 6 feet 3 inches and over 200 pounds. He can be an imposing figure, especially in a situation where he has power and control over someone, like a massage therapist does over their client,” Ehrenrich said.

Taras Tikhomirov, the owner and manager of Spa Lux, questioned why the first victim did not inform the spa about the incident in May and why police did not take action at that time. Tikhomirov said Spa Lux cares about the safety of its clients and took immediate action by dismissing Cole after the second victim reported the assault and provided all necessary information to the police.

“As a business, we care not only about our reputation and quality of services but first and foremost about the safety of our clients. We absolutely want to see justice. We are currently cooperating with the ongoing investigation as it is in the interest of our clients and our reputation,” Tikhomirov said.

Ehrenrich explained that victims of unexpected sexual assault may experience a mental shutdown due to terror and confusion.

The affidavit also notes that two employees informed police they had notified spa management about Cole’s inappropriate massage practices, one in February and another in early August.

Cole is charged with two felony counts. News On 6 reached out to the spa and Cole’s attorney but did not receive a response.