A man sexually assaulted women he recruited on Craigslist for fake medical studies, police say

A Connecticut man accused of recruiting women for a fake medical study and sexually assaulting them during sessions he recorded has turned himself in to police, state authorities said.

Brian Casella, a 35-year-old business owner, recruited the women in a variety of ways, including online advertising on Craigslist for the purported medical study, court documents say.

On Aug. 26, a woman who worked for Casella’s company, Vivid Events, which provides event services, reported to state police allegations that Casella sexually abused her, according to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant.

The woman told a detective that after her food intolerances came up in a conversation with Casella, she recruited her to participate in a paid medical study about her digestive system, according to the affidavit, who did not provide her name.

Casella had the woman fill out an extensive questionnaire and then conducted several “tests” in which she was partially unclothed to listen to her stomach, the woman said, the affidavit said.

After the tests, during which Casella touched her with medical tools and his hands, he would pay her in cash, according to the state police investigator who interviewed the woman.

According to the woman, the tests became “more intrusive” over time, the affidavit states. During the final session on August 6, Casella is accused of touching her genital area without her permission.

A few weeks after the woman’s complaint, authorities acting on a search warrant found a hard drive containing more than 1,000 photos and videos of several other victims in Casella’s truck, the affidavit said.

On Nov. 17, Casella, of Bethel, surrendered to an active arrest warrant charging him with fourth-degree sexual assault, authorities said in a news release that day.

Now state police are working to identify additional victims of sexual assault seen in the recordings and photos on Casella’s hard drive, state police wrote in an alert.

“Brian Casella allegedly recruited female victims for a fake medical study in which Casella used various instruments as well as his own hands and ears to manipulate and listen to their stomachs,” state police said.

Mark Sherman, Casella’s criminal defense attorney in Fairfield County, told McClatchy News in a statement on Nov. 20 that it was premature to discuss the details of the case.

However, Sherman said the case was “complicated” and that Casella was “prepared to make the legal process fair and sensitive to all involved.”

Sleeping pills and cable ties

According to the affidavit, Casella conducted the fake medical sessions with his employee within Vivid Events for approximately a year.

Casella is accused of setting up a camera with a tripod for each session, which would result in Casella paying the woman in cash, the affidavit states.

Finally, he asked her if she was interested in participating in a “larger study” and that she needed to take sleeping pills, according to the affidavit.

In the first session of the “larger study,” the woman took a sleeping pill, even though the dosage was two pills, the affidavit says.

“(She) stated that she did not take the second pill because she was afraid that something would happen if she fell asleep and that things did not feel right to her,” the affidavit states.

The woman wore a nursing smock at Casella’s request, but when he wanted her to be completely bare on top, she refused and “asked if she could put tape over her nipples, which she then did in order to preserve “some of her dignity preserve”. ‘” and pretended to be sleeping, the affidavit states.

During other sessions, Casella is accused of zip-tying the woman to stabilize her and touching her underwear and genital area, the affidavit said.

Despite the woman’s repeated requests to end the sessions, Casella insisted on continuing, according to the affidavit.

Casella’s interview with the detective

On September 14, after the woman reported Casella to police, authorities executed a search warrant at Vivid Events and found “bedding, an ultrasound machine, gowns, electrical stimulation devices, microphones, stethoscopes and jelly” for ultrasound examinations in a padlocked one Attic area, the affidavit states.

That day, in an interview with the detective, Casella said he had been performing fake medical exams on women for years to “satisfy a fetish,” according to the affidavit, which said Casella stated he had one “Belly fetish”.

He told the investigator that there were “many” victims he recorded and that he would “always” pay them for their participation, the affidavit said.

The hard drive found during the search warrant contained 265 photos and videos of his employee, including images that showed her “mostly naked” and some that showed her bound with zip ties, the affidavit said.

“If you recognize Casella and feel you are a victim, please contact Detective Barbero at (860) 904-0493,” state police said.

Police say Casella is due back in court Nov. 29 after posting $10,000 bail.

Bethel is located approximately 55 miles southwest of Hartford.

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