'Touch therapist' gets 15 years in assault case

A Carson City man who claimed to be healing people with touch therapy was sentenced Tuesday to up to 15 years in prison in the sexual assault of two women.

"I understand that I did hurt these women. I thought I had permission," 50-year-old Edmund Jakopchek told Judge Jim Wilson in Carson City District Court. "It's clear that this work is not good for either me or the women and I'll never do it again."

Jakopchek has served 144 days in jail since his arrest in February on charges of sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to two charges of attempted sexual assault in exchange for the plea; two charges of sexual assault were dismissed.

According to court records, Jakopchek claimed to practice Chi Nei Tsang, a Chinese touch therapy that focuses on the stomach.

During massages in January and February, Jakopchek molested two of his clients - one at her home and another in a room adjacent to a local coffee shop, court documents charge.

"There is no way to fully reveal or describe the damage caused," said one tearful victim during Tuesday's hearing. "Edmund knowingly took advantage of women in their vulnerability ... Edmund knowingly abused the healing environment. He inflicted pain for his own enjoyment."

Deputy District Attorney Melanie Porter noted that Jakopchek had been told by licensing authorities for Chi Nei Tsang that his behavior was inappropriate, but still he continued to practice his own variation that entailed internal touching.

"Mr. Jakopchek is a predator," Porter said. "He would look for women who were vulnerable and he would offer healing sessions. He took vulnerable women who placed their trust in him and he use that trust to further violate women who had already been through enough.

"What these women got was not healing. What these women got was unwanted sexual penetration."

Jakopchek supporter Rae Weisz said she and her husband spent a lot of time with Jakopchek and both had undergone touch therapy with him. She said she was never uncomfortable during the sessions, and Jakopchek asked permission before he massaged below her waistline.

After the first session when Jakopchek had applied pressure to her pubic bone she warned him.

"I said, you know, you can get in trouble unless you're working on other healers," she recalled. "I didn't find it inappropriate. I didn't find it sexual. I think most people don't understand it. I think Edmund is an incredibly enlightened being."