Fake physiotherapist arrested on suspicion of rape

Authorities arrested on Monday a man who pretended to be a physiotherapist and is suspected of the crimes of rape and sexual harassment, which occurred in a clinic in the municipality of Oeiras, the Judicial Police announced this Tuesday.

In a statement, the PJ states that the victim of these crimes is a 24-year-old woman who, “due to joint/orthopedic problems, was accompanied by the suspect in physiotherapy sessions, during which she was forced to perform sexual acts, without being able to show any resistance, due to tonic immobility”.

The PJ explains that the suspect, aged 49, is indicted for the crime of usurpation of functions, since he gave physiotherapy sessions in a health and well-being establishment in Oeiras, in the district of Lisbon, between December 2024 and April 2025, “without qualification for that purpose”.

The man was arrested on Monday, and according to the PJ, he continued to perform the same functions without the necessary qualifications. The detainee will be brought to the first interrogation for the application of the respective coercive measures.