Springfield acupuncturist convicted of indecent assault
NORRISTOWN >> A Springfield Township acupuncturist faces court supervision and will have to register as a sex offender after he admitted to having indecent contact with a male client.
Edward J. Cunningham, 64, of the 1200 block of Malinda Road in the Oreland section of Springfield Township, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to two years’ probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of indecent assault without consent in connection with a December 2017 incident in an acupuncture room he set up at his residence.
The sentence was imposed by Judge Risa Vetri Ferman, who accepted a plea agreement. Cunningham’s admission came on the day that he was scheduled to stand trial on numerous sexual assaultrelated charges.
“He specifically pled guilty to having indecent contact with (a private area) of the victim while the victim was receiving acupuncture therapy, while the victim was actually lying on the table receiving the acupuncture treatment,” said Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Beeson, explaining the nature of Cunningham’s admission.
Ferman also ordered Cunningham, who was represented by defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III, to undergo psychosexual and mental health evaluations and to comply with all recommendations for treatment.
Cunningham, as a result of his admission, also faces a 15-year requirement to report his address to state police in order to comply with Pennsylvania’s Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act, commonly referred to as Megan’s Law.
The judge ordered Cunningham to have no contact with the victim, who, according to police, had been treated multiple times by Cunningham for long term pain stemming from a vehicle accident several years ago.
“The victim was happy to resolve it without a trial,” said Beeson, explaining the significance of the plea agreement. “For the victim and for my office, ensuring that (Cunningham) was on Megan’s Law was the most important part about this.”
The plea agreement spared the victim the trauma of having to testify about the matter during a trial.
The victim had been referred to Cunningham by a pain doctor from an area hospital, according to court papers.
“He trusted the defendant. He actually sought the defendant out because of the pain he was suffering from. He was looking at the defendant as somebody who is supposed to help him and make him feel better and somebody he could put his trust in,” Beeson said. “Lie on a table to undergo acupuncture therapy, it’s a very vulnerable state for (the victim), so the fact he was sexually assaulted in the middle of it was really upsetting.”
The investigation began on Dec. 19, 2017, when the victim went to Springfield Township police to report being sexually assaulted by Cunningham during a treatment session that day. The victim reported that during the acupuncture treatment Cunningham started massaging near his buttocks, “which the victim felt was creepy,” according to the criminal complaint filed by Springfield Township Detective Stephen Craig.
Cunningham then proceeded to touch private areas of the victim’s body in an indecent manner, according to court papers.
“The encounter was not consensual, so the victim left and went to police,” Craig wrote in the arrest affidavit.
On Dec. 20, investigators conducted a consensual phone call between the victim and Cunningham.
“During the course of that conversation, Cunningham sounded nervous and apologized for what happened. He also said it never had to happen again,” Craig alleged.
Other charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and simple assault where dismissed against Cunningham as part of the plea agreement.