Aaron Paul Borger is accused of sex crimes against multiple women at Om Grown Yoga in Baldwin City between March 2024 and April 2026.

A woman who scheduled a massage at a Baldwin City yoga studio, hoping to get some relief from lower back pain, instead became the victim of a sexual assault at the hands of a male massage therapist, according to allegations in a recently released arrest affidavit.

The woman’s report of the incident to police prompted more than half a dozen other women to quickly come forward with similar stories of what they endured while being “worked on” by massage therapist Aaron Borger at Om Grown Yoga & Wellness Collective in downtown Baldwin City.

The 16-page affidavit, released by Senior Judge Nancy Parrish with slight redactions, begins with the woman’s experience on April 3, when she was redeeming a “myofascial release massage” that she had received for her birthday. She said that the massage began typically enough, with her lying face down in her underwear under a cover, but it took a turn when Borger asked her to flip over on her back. Before long her breasts were exposed and Borger was massaging down her torso to her vagina, penetrating it with his fingers, she said. He explained that he was checking for “range of motion.”

Prior to that contact, the experience already had “started to feel really off,” the woman told Baldwin City Police Detective Vanessa Garza, but she second-guessed whether she was right to feel uncomfortable because she had never had this type of massage before. She knew, though, that she never wanted one again.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she recalled thinking, realizing that Borger was breathing “faster and louder” and seemed to be sexually excited.

When the woman got out of the room, she realized that the hourlong massage had gone on for almost two hours — an experience that nearly every other woman interviewed for the affidavit shared.

The woman immediately called her friend and Googled “myofascial massage” to see if it involved what Borger’s massage had. It didn’t. For one, it should have been a “dry massage,” not the very oily one she had been subjected to. Her friend advised her to immediately call the police.

Baldwin City police set up a recorded phone call in which the woman spoke to Borger about the massage. She asked him if he had put his fingers inside her “for like pelvic floor release,” and he replied “yeah, that was to release a lot of that pelvic floor stuff,” according to the affidavit. After first suggesting that it was a standard practice, he said “I wouldn’t say it was standard. It was more like it was so tight that (first) time that we just kind of tried to get as much of that to release as possible. The goal is that it just starts to unwind on its own.”

After the recorded call, police contacted Borger via phone at his girlfriend’s residence in North Kansas City, Missouri, and he agreed to meet them in Lenexa. He said he had been operating as a licensed massage therapist in Missouri and at Om Grown since February or March of 2024 and that he exclusively offered myofascial release massages. Police told him they wanted to talk to him about the woman’s experience, and he was then given Miranda warnings, which he waived. He said he did not recall his fingers penetrating her vagina, but he also did not deny that it had occurred, though it was never his “intention.”

Following their interview with Borger, the Baldwin City Police Department, on April 8, issued a release asking other potential victims to come forward, and they did, telling very similar stories about unusually long face-up massages — breasts often eventually exposed — that were uncomfortable and sometimes painful, “icky,” “weird” and scary. All of the women described some sort of touching in the breast or vaginal area, with some saying that they froze and didn’t know what would happen if they tried to leave. Some told police how Borger “legitimized” his techniques by using “healing” language like getting the women “balanced” and facilitating “release” along “pathways.”

One woman said that as she was leaving, the computer prompted her to leave a tip.

“I think I just paid to be molested, though,” she recalled thinking.

Some of the women in the affidavit told police that they had discussed their experience with the owners of Om Grown. One woman said they told her that Borger wouldn’t be left alone with clients, and another said she was told he would only do dry massages.

The Journal-World reached out to Om Grown for comment, but its calls were not returned. Police, in a news release, said that the owners had assisted the investigation “from the onset.”

An arrest affidavit is a sworn document compiled by police outlining why they believe they have probable cause to take someone into custody. Allegations in arrest affidavits have not been proved in court.

On April 10, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office charged Borger, 44, with two counts of rape, two counts of aggravated sexual battery and three counts of sexual battery. The next week, four more counts were added, bringing the total to 11 — seven felonies and four misdemeanors. The felony counts include two charges of rape and five counts of aggravated sexual battery. The misdemeanors include four counts of sexual battery.

Under Kansas law, digital penetration of the female sex organ, no matter how slight, constitutes rape.

The birth years of the eight alleged victims range from 1969 to 2008, and the alleged offenses occurred between 2024 and this month.

Borger is being held in the Douglas County Jail on a bond of $500,000 cash or surety. His next court appearance is a status conference scheduled for April 29.

Baldwin City police have asked that anyone with additional information about Borger contact Detective Garza at 785-594-3850 or via email at vschmalz@baldwincity.gov.