Masseur accused of assaulting customer at Bend spa makes first court appearance; plea date set

Mandarin interpreter provided for Jianming Tang, also accused of practicing massage without license

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A man accused of sexually abusing a massage customer at a northeast Bend spa and of practicing massage without a license made his first court appearance Wednesday, and a plea hearing was set for Nov. 22.

Jianming Tang. 45, communicated with Deschutes County Circuit Judge Beth Bagley through a Mandarin-language interpreter for the brief arraignment on charges of third-degree sexual abuse and practicing massage without a license, both Class A misdemeanors.

Oregon State Police said a woman told authorities she was sexually assaulted by a masseur at the May Spa on Northeast Bellevue Drive last July, leading to her involvement in an undercover operation last month and Tang’s arrest.

Bagley continued the terms of Tang’s conditional release, directing him to obey all laws, stay in contact with his attorney and have no contact with his alleged victim.

“Also, you are not to work in any sort of business or establishment giving massages to other persons,”  Bagley told Tang, which the interpreter repeated in Mandarin, to which Tang agreed.