Rhea Mahbubani

‘I Felt Violated': Patient of Concord Chiropractor Speaks Out About Alleged Sexual Assault

An East Bay woman on Wednesday publicly accused a popular chiropractor of sexually assaulting her.

Erin Martinov recalled feeling shocked when a March visit to Dr. Steven Moon for chronic back pain took an unexpected and unwelcome turn.

“I couldn't believe I was laying there with my breasts exposed,” she said.

The Lafayette woman said she had been Moon’s patient for a decade when one day he suggested a different sort of treatment.

“His words were, ‘I'd really like to give you a full body massage. I think you could really use it,’” Martinov said.

The woman says she was told to remove her undergarments for the treatment, but things got very uncomfortable very quickly. Moon allegedly spent about 15 minutes massaging her breasts and stomach, Martinov said.

“I felt violated,” she said. “I wasn't sure what was happening. I was in shock.”

But when the shock wore off, Martinov called the Concord police and reported the assault. In April, officers arrested Moon on suspicion of felony sexual battery by fraud.

“To have somebody who you trust, violate you in that way without your permission, it's hard to describe the way it feels,” she admitted.

Since then, another alleged victim has come forward, claiming she too was victimized by Moon on two occasions. Martinov has hired an attorney to help her get justice and insists that she doesn't want the charges reduced to misdemeanors.

Moon’s treatment under the “guise of chiropractic care doesn’t come close to any medical treatment,” she said. “He did it to the wrong girl. I'm not going to sit back and say, ‘This didn't happen to me.’ It did."

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