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San Jose boxing instructor charged with sexual assault
The manager at a San Jose boxing gym was arrested and charged with groping two members and an employee.
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The manager of a downtown San Jose boxing gym has been charged with groping two women and trying to extort a third for nude photos.
YBX Fitness offers boxing, yoga and bodybuilding in a space with loud music, fog machines, bright lights and lasers. But at least three women say the manager took advantage of them sexually at the gym.
Now, Tristan Arfi, 42, has been charged with five counts of sexual battery and two counts of attempted extortion, all felonies. Arfi, known as "Coach T," is a convicted sex offender because of a prior conviction of lewd acts with a minor at a Menlo Park gym.
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Aidan Welsh said two victims were customers.
"The defendant offered them free private massages. However, once the defendant had gotten them in a place of isolation, he began to touch them in a sexually inappropriate manner," Welsh said.
A third woman was an ex-employee who told investigators, "I was crying every day at that gym," according to court records.
"The defendant withheld her salary, and wouldn't pay her her money, unless she sent nude photographs of herself to him," Welsh said.
Workers say Arfi forced them to sign NDAs, or non-disclosure agreements.
"Those agreements cannot prohibit someone from disclosing illegal conduct to the police," Welsh said.
In a statement, Arfi's attorney Marsanne Weese said, "Mr. Arfi vehemently denies all of the allegations against him. We look forward to defending him against these baseless claims in a court of law."
A woman who works at the gym also said she didn't believe the allegations.
"It's not true," said the woman, who did not want her name used. "I don't believe it. I know him. He's a good person. I've worked for him for a year now, and I'm a pretty good reader of people, and I know for sure that's not his personality. It's not something he would do."
But Tenzin Yoenten, who was visiting the gym for the first time on Friday said, "I got a lot of sisters, so it's like something you don't really want to hear, especially like in my household, women you treat with a lot of respect."
The defendant is now out of custody and will be arraigned at the Hall of Justice in San Jose on Dec. 23.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan