San Mateo County sheriff's deputies arrested a 65-year-old licensed acupuncturist Monday on suspicion of sexual battery during a massage, according to the sheriff's office.
Deputies arrested Redwood City resident Randall Neustaedter at about 11 a.m. Monday at his office at 1779 Woodside Road in unincorporated Redwood City.
Neustaedter allegedly assaulted a 27-year-old woman last month during an acupuncture massage. The victim said after a series of acupuncture treatments with Neustaedter, he allegedly offered her a massage, according to the sheriff's office. She accepted and during the massage, Neustaedter allegedly touched the victim's genitals deliberately and inappropriately, deputies said.
Deputies booked Neustaedter into the Maguire Correctional Facility on two counts of a forcible act of sexual penetration. Neustaedter posted $200,000 bail and will be arraigned on Aug. 21 in San Mateo County Superior Court in Redwood City, according to the sheriff's office.
A call to Neustaedter's office Wednesday went unanswered.
Neighboring business owner and fellow acupuncturist Elham Khodabandello told NBC Bay Area, until now, she had only heard positive things about Neustaedter.
“He’s a wonderful practitioner, great homeopath, and a great acupuncturist,” Khodabandello said.
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Deputies said there may be other victims in the case and are asking anyone who may be a victim of Neustaedter to call San Mateo County sheriff's Detective Scott Berberian at (650) 363-4051 or by email at sberberian@smcgov.org.
According to Neustaedter's website, cure-guide.com, Neustaedter graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a major in English literature and creative writing and completed medical training at the San Francisco College of Acupuncture. The website says Neustaedter has also written several books on children's health issues and pediatric practices, including one on vaccines.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
