A Bryant man arrested last week is accused of raping three women -- the youngest of whom was 20 -- over a period of six years while working as a massage therapist, court documents said.
Little Rock police officers arrested Thomas Brainard Winnie, 39, on Thursday on three charges of felony rape after a woman came forward in June saying Winnie had assaulted her during a massage, according to an affidavit for Winnie's arrest.
The woman told investigators that Winnie had texted her multiple times after the incident saying he hoped she would return to his office soon, the affidavit said.
While investigating the woman's assault, investigators discovered two other instances in which Winnie reportedly sexually assaulted women while giving massages, according to the affidavit.
Winnie was working for Remedy Massage of Little Rock at the time of the initial assault reported to police, but had been fired from Massage Envy for inappropriately touching a client in 2016, the affidavit said. Winnie was fired after the second time he touched a woman inappropriately at Massage Envy, according to court documents.
Winnie also was fired from a chiropractor's office after rubbing against a woman during a massage, the affidavit said.
Multiple national news outlets reported in 2017 that more than 180 women reported being sexually assaulted at Massage Envy clinics nationwide. In August of this year, 16 more women said they were assaulted during visits to the nation's largest massage franchise, Buzzfeed News reported after an investigation into the business's handling of sexual assault.
Winnie was no longer listed on the Pulaski County jail roster as of Tuesday afternoon.
Metro on 10/31/2018