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 massage therapist accused of multiple sex crimes against nearly a dozen women doesn’t want jurors to hear potentially incriminating statements he made to police, but jurors likely will hear those statements after a Douglas County judge on Tuesday declined to suppress them.

Attorneys for Aaron Borger, who worked at Baldwin City’s Om Grown Yoga & Wellness Collective before being charged with 14 crimes against 11 women, argued that Borger’s April 8 interview with police, which was not played in court, was “a clear Miranda violation,” while Senior Assistant District Attorney Megan Ahsens said it was obvious no such violation had occurred and that the case against the defense’s position was “so clear cut that it’s almost a law school exam question.”

photo by: University of Kansas

Douglas County Senior Assistant District Attorney Megan Ahsens

The day prior to the police interview, April 7, one of Borger’s alleged victims had spoken to Borger in a phone call that was recorded by police. In that call Borger acknowledged penetrating the woman’s vagina with his fingers during a massage, although he told her there was a therapeutic reason for it. The next day, police arranged to meet Borger at the Lenexa Police Department, which was halfway between Baldwin City and Borger’s North Kansas City residence. Borger voluntarily showed up to the meeting.

The legal dispute over his statements arose because about half an hour after Borger arrived Baldwin City detective Vanessa Garza told him he was being detained. His Miranda rights weren’t read to him for another 13 minutes, though. Defense attorney Hatem Chahine told Folsom that Miranda warnings should have been given to Borger from the get-go because police knew they were going to arrest him before he even arrived.

“It’s a guise,” Chahine said. “He’s not free to leave.”

Defense attorney Hatem Chahine appears Thursday, April 24, 2025, in Douglas County District Court at a hearing for his client Kyle Elder.

Folsom rejected that interpretation of the law, saying that the Miranda standard is not what’s subjectively in the mind of a police officer but whether a reasonable person would feel they were free to leave. Having privately reviewed video of the interview, Folsom determined that a reasonable person would have concluded they were free to leave prior to being told they were detained.

For Miranda to come into play, Folsom said, you have to be both in custody and interrogated. Borger was neither in the first half hour of the interview. In the 13 minutes between being told he was detained and being Mirandized, he was in custody but not being interrogated. In those 13 minutes he was allowed to go out into the lobby, talk to his fiancée and reschedule appointments. The police did not attempt to solicit any incriminating information during this period, Folsom said.

When the interview resumed, Borger was read his rights and waived them, which Folsom said was a knowing and voluntary waiver. What exactly Borger said to police isn’t publicly known, aside from what has been disclosed in his arrest affidavit. He reportedly said he did not recall his fingers penetrating the woman’s vagina, but he also did not deny that it had occurred, though it was never his “intention.”

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Carl Folsom III addresses the crowd at his swearing in ceremony on Dec. 2, 2022, at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center.

The state had noted that during the three-plus hour interview Borger spoke to police eagerly and enthusiastically about his “myofascial release massage” techniques. Garza testified that the interview was hours long only because Borger talked so much about this topic. Borger was offered snacks, beverages and bathroom breaks during the interview and was allowed access to his phone the entire time. Folsom said that the interview was cordial and that police did not engage in any behavior that would make him question the knowingness and voluntariness of Borger’s Miranda waiver.

After the interview, Borger was taken to the Douglas County Jail. Since his arrest last spring, the charges against him have increased from seven to 14, including three counts of rape, five counts of aggravated sexual battery, all felonies, and six misdemeanor counts of sexual battery.

The number of listed victims now stands at 11, with three of the women having reportedly been victimized more than once. The women’s ages range from late teens to late 50s.

Borger, 45, 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 on Jan. 20.

In addition to the criminal case, Borger and the yoga studio are also facing a civil lawsuit by one of the women he allegedly raped. The lawsuit lists four counts: negligence on the part of Borger and Om Grown, negligent hiring and supervision on the part of Om Grown, negligent infliction of emotional distress and violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

The suit alleges that Borger was unqualified to perform massages, that he posed safety risks to clients and that Om Grown “concealed its knowledge of the dangers.” The plaintiff, who reported the incident to police, alleges that Om Grown had received complaints about Borger touching clients in offensive ways and that Om Grown was vicariously liable for Borger’s conduct.

Borger has asked the court to stay the civil proceeding against him while his criminal case is pending, but court records do not indicate that any such order has been granted.