Orange County spa owner accused of sexual assault; additional victims sought

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (KABC) -- An Orange County spa owner is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who responded to a job advertisement on Craigslist. Investigators believe there may be additional victims.

Raymond Newton Baker, 72, owns Beautiful Image LLC located at 30012 Ivy Glenn, Suite 220 in Laguna Niguel.

In 1976, Baker helped develop the "Micro Current" cosmetic device to reduce age lines, cellulite and promote weight loss, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Baker on Feb. 19 for what he allegedly did with the device while pretending to train a 29-year-old woman who answered his Craigslist job ad. The ad claimed he was opening a second spa in Fashion Island, Newport Beach.

"During that training session, he would utilize a wand or a medical device that was supposed to be used for reducing cellulite, for weight loss and what he would do is he would sexually assault the victims with that wand," said Lt. Jeff Hallock with the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Baker allegedly sexually assaulted the victim several times over three months.

Alex Fong says Baker has rented the office space for two years. He changed the business name to "Bio Nova LLC" a few months ago.

"He loved to talk about the business a lot. He really liked to say what he was planning on, what was going on next," Fong said. "He also liked to talk about his wife. He's married. They seemed to be really close so that's why it's also perplexing."

Neighbors say they haven't seen Baker since his arrest last week. Authorities are concerned that there may be other potential victims that have not yet come forward.

"He indicated that there were 18 other victims that had participated in his training program, but had failed for various reasons," Hallock said.

Baker was booked on suspicion of penetration with a foreign object and sexual battery at the Orange County jail. He posted $50,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in court pending charges.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with further information or who may have been victimized by Baker was urged to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Special Victims Unit at (714) 647-7418 or (714) 647-7000.