Dog groomer arrested for alleged sexual assault on 75-year-old client

Author: Steve Price 

SOLANA BEACH, Calif — Tony Choi has been arrested and charged with elder abuse and sexual assault. 

San Diego Sheriff's deputies say the 52-year-old Solana Beach resident approached a 75 year old woman while she was outside her home near the Torrey Highlands area and asked her if she wanted her dogs washed. Moments later, she invited him inside and that's when they say Choi attacked her.

Fortunately, a caregiver at the home interrupted the attack and Choi ran away. It happened Halloween morning and Choi was arrested later that night outside his home.

Choi is no stranger to law enforcement and CBS 8. We first met him in September 2022, after multiple grooming clients say he not only did a terrible job, but also injured their pet. 

"To see my dog after the fact and she's curled up in a corner and obviously traumatized, I don't even want to think about what happened in that van," David Miner told us back then. 

His golden retriever, Dixie, was in Choi's van for three hours and came out of it in bad shape. 

"It was terrible. It really was."

And Dixie's not alone. Kugle's owner says the Goldendoodle had cuts all over its body, and Toodels left traumatized. 

"Raw skin around his ears and his rectum," said Toodles' owner, Norman Ratner. "Rear end and the underbelly was just raw."

CBS 8 left messages on a phone number we had for Choi and knocked on his door to see if he'd talk about the incident, but he didn't return our call and, with the exception of two dogs that barked as we arrived, no one else was home.

Choi has not faced any criminal charges related to his grooming business because animal control can't prove his actions constituted animal abuse. But CBS 8 has learned he's been arrested several times, including twice last year for allegedly driving under the influence of drugs.

He's currently out of jail on $100,000 bail. He's scheduled to be in court for an arraignment on November 8, 2024.

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Dog groomer arrested for alleged sexual assault on 75-year-old client