HollyMatkinProvo, UT – A restaurant owner, posing as doctor doing research, sexually assaulted at least two women.
His scheme included recruitment via Craigslist, where the man offered to pay female volunteers $200, in exchange for their participation in “medical device” testing and “anatomy research.”
Borzin Mottaghian, 34, has been charged with 17 felony offenses including object rape and forcible sexual abuse, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The total number of women who responded to Mottaghian’s ad is unknown.
On Oct. 18, a woman met with Mottaghian at a downtown suite for what she believed was an examination, court records said.
Mottaghian had guaranteed the woman that an “engineer” would also be present at the examination, but the victim told police no one but Mottaghian was there during her appointment.
The woman told investigators Mottaghian claimed to be creating a new surgical catheter, and instructed her to undress below her waist for an “examination.”
He then took photographs of the woman’s genitals, and penetrated her with a metal object and with his fingers, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Then on Oct. 19, police said a second woman met with Mottaghian. He told his second victim that he was creating a new tampon.
The woman told police she was “disturbed by the nature of the examination,” and excused herself for approximately 20 minutes, before returning to the room.
She told investigators that Mottaghian then “convinced her to repeat the examination,” and paid her $200.
“This woman left before Mottaghian was able to sexually assault her in the same manner he had done with the first victim,” police said.
After the women alerted authorities, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office’s had an undercover officer contact Mottaghian via e-mail to schedule an appointment.
She met with Mottaghian on Oct. 25, and he “assured” her that he was a doctor, and instructed the undercover officer to remove her clothing, according to the Washington Post.
At that point, authorities entered the suite with a search warrant, and arrested him.
Investigators recovered “gloves and instruments allegedly used in the exam,” according to the Deseret News.
Authorities have confirmed that Mottaghian is not a doctor, and does not possess any licensure which would enable him to legally perform medical procedures.
Mottaghian has been charged with 12 counts of object rape, two counts of attempted object rape, two counts of forcible sex abuse, and one count of attempted forcible sex abuse, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.