Pasadena Marriage and Family Therapist Convicted of Sexual Assaults on 7 Patients

A marriage and family therapist accused of sexually assaulting seven patients at his Pasadena medical office pleaded no contest to seven sex crime charges on Wednesday, records show.

Edgar Gustavo Villamarin, 65, of Pasadena was convicted of seven counts of sexual battery by fraud, Los Angeles County Superior Court records show. Five additional charges were dismissed, including two counts of false imprisonment, two counts of assault with intent to commit a sex crime, and one count of sexual penetration of an unconscious person.

He was scheduled to return to the Pasadena branch of L.A. County Superior Court on Dec. 1 for sentencing, according to Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Ricardo Santiago. The conviction resulted from a plea arrangement reached during what was scheduled to be a pretrial hearing in his case.

Under the plea agreement, Villamarin was expected to be sentenced to four years in state prison, Santiago said.

Villamarin was first arrested on Nov. 27, 2018, Pasadena police officials said at the time.

The investigation began earlier in the month after “an adult female victim reported to the Pasadena Police that she was sexually assaulted by a marriage and family licensed therapist, Suspect Edgar Gustavo Villamarin, during her appointment that took place on Friday, November 16, 2018 at his office located in the 100 of Orange Place,” Pasadena police said in a written statement.

Detectives then revisited a prior report from January 2016 made against the therapist by another woman.

“The victim also alleged a sexual assault occurred at Villamarin’s office during a scheduled appointment,” according to the police statement.

Prosecutors filed charges against Villamarin in connection with crimes against both victims in January 2019. Police released a photo of Villamarin and reached out to the public in search of potential additional victims.

The continued investigation led to the identification of seven victims, in all, prosecutors said.

Villamarin had been free on a $450,000 bond pending legal proceedings, officials said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the charges the defendant was convicted of. The story has been updated.