The owner and business of a martial arts studio in Ocean Beach are being sued for sexual harassment, sexual assault and battery of a young woman who had been attending classes for years and had become an employee of the studio.
Setting Sun Dojo owner Jherie Araos and his business, located at 4993 Niagara Ave, #109 in Ocean Beach, are being sued by Elleanor Tow, a prior Ocean Beach resident, for sexual harassment, sexual assault and battery, wrongful termination, unfair business practices, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The complaint alleges that Araos started grooming Tow, the plaintiff, and her family when she was 15 years old, and sexually assaulted her for the first time at a company camping trip when she was 16 years old.
It details how Araos gained access to Tow through her classes at the Setting Sun Dojo and by offering her employment opportunities. It describes how Araos sexually and mentally abused Tow for years, isolated her from her family, and fired her when she was 21 years old. Finally, the complaint alleges that Araos continues to have access to underage girls who take classes from him at the Setting Sun Dojo.
The cruel irony is that Setting Sun has this advertisement on its front window: “Protect Your Child With: Abduction Defense; Bully Defense; or Women’s Self Defense”.
The law suit was filed on February 22, 2024, by the Law Office of Rene Potter. (Case No. 37-2024-00008204-CU-OE-CTL)
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
It’s all true. My family attended there for more than 5 years. I saw their dynamic when Ellie was young and when she was 18, then 21+. It changed.
I was able to cross corroborate specific instances with previous Sensei’s. They left eventually because they sensed something wasn’t right.
It’s heartbreaking. It’s hard to believe. But the families that have been there over the years should put all the pieces together. The picture doesn’t add up to what it should.
It’s terrible that families kept attending despite Ellie warning them years ago. I’m so proud of her for finding the strength to go this far now. She wants to save your children. She wants the world to know Jherie cannot be trusted despite his charisma.
This suite means she’s ready to fight.
There were no warnings from Ellie, only others making assumptions so don’t blame families who chose whats best for their children (their happiness).
She was engaged to him where is that in any of this info?
That is how insidious these types of relationships are, especially when the grooming begins with teens. We went there for years, knew both parties well, and left when the engagement was announced when she was an adult (which happened during Covid, so he had more privacy and greater opportunity to isolate her). Even without proof, red flags went off in my head due to the disparity in their ages and the fact that he had been her teacher since the age of 15. That is like a 40-year-old high school math teacher becoming engaged to their former student once that student becomes barely legal. I asked other people who had left as well, got more details, and realized it had most likely begun when she was a minor. I’m glad she realized what had happened and got out!
Even if they were engaged, what difference would that make? He got engaged to someone that he had been openly grooming in front of dozens of families when she was a minor? If they were engaged, that is even more creepy in my opinion.
Ellie was never engaged to Jherie. It was a rumor. Jherie manipulated and controlled Ellie over the years and did not want her even telling anyone they were “together,” and later, living together. Over the years he only told his family and a close friend from the Dojo. He even made Ellie feel like she had to tell friends that came over to their apartment that she lived with someone else, and got angry with her when she did tell a couple of her own friends that they were “dating” long after she turned 18. The psychology of grooming, isolation from support systems (e.g. “left her family”) and abuse is complicated and deep, and Ellie has been learning through therapy (which is all included in her complaint) that it was a result of this psychological abuse that caused her to stay with Jherie even after she turned 18 years old. As a mother of a 19 year old young woman and 2 teenage sons, I am acutely aware of varying perspectives – a parent who might have a child “acting out” like Ellie did before leaving home, being a young woman in Ellie’s situation, and what is appropriate behavior for a man. So again, please help us get the word out as much as possible to anyone you know who is attending, used to attend, or may attend the Setting Sun Dojo. Thank you.
Can you please post the results of the criminal trial and the police findings surrounding all of this? You start your post referring rumors…which is a very interesting word. I can understand people taking their kids away from this dojo because of individual moral opinions/disagreements, like being uncomfortable with a large age gap in a relationship, but these allegations all seem to be represented as proven facts? I’m confused because the case you are representing appears to be an equal opportunity employment civil case? Since you, the lawyer, are asking for this information to be further spread can you please provide the facts.
My post stated that another person’s contention that Ellie was engaged was a rumor. Nothing we are alleging in our complaint is a rumor. The facts are contained in the publicly filed civil complaint in San Diego Superior Court.
Among many things, we allege that Jherie sexually assaulted Ellie starting when she was 16. That is not simply a “large age gap,” it is illegal.
Rene, thank you for representing Ellie. There was a man from a church in my suburb who was a beloved youth pastor. He had groomed a few girls and is now serving 21 years. These charges against Jherie need to be taken seriously for the protection of children. Similar to attitudes at the dojo, some adults at the church who knew the perpetrator continued to trust him even after the horrific accusations. Jherie will have his day in court; however, as a parent and grandparent, I recommend that parents exercise wisdom regarding who watches over their children.
Also a former Setng Sun family, we left because I felt their relationship seemed inappropriate. I am not suprised by this news. He does seem like a really nice guy and very involved in the community so I know it’s upsetting for people to hear this, but there are a lot of families who left the dojo for this reason years ago.
This is news to me. We went there for years. We were there when she “left” her family. We never heard any of this, no one ever “warned” us. Maybe we missed all the signs, but we had nothing but a positive experience. I remember thinking her family dynamic was a little odd. It didn’t surprise me to her she had left home. But never witnessed anything like what is being alleged. I will wait for the process to determine what the facts are.
True that it’s good to know the facts as those are revealed; yet please support the survivors of sexual assault. Having been assaulted as a teen by a much older man who was someone my family deemed trustworthy, I am saddened when women are unsupportive of those who have been through the life-altering trauma of predatory sex.
I met Ellie 6 years ago at a karate event and watched her change over the ensuing years. She showed the signs that were similar to someone who had been sucked into a cult. May she find healing.
I am the attorney representing Ellie Tow. Ellie’s purpose in bringing this lawsuit is to get the word out and tell her story. It is not meant to make any parent feel bad for having their children attend the Setting Sun. We allege that Jherie also groomed Ellie’s family. But make no mistake, this happened. She was 16 years old when he sexually assaulted her. It does not matter if she said yes. She was a young girl who had never even kissed a boy before, and he did something very serious to her while on a camping trip put on by the Setting Sun. If anyone is interested in reading the complaint, which lists all of the facts and describes how he groomed and manipulated her over the years, I am happy to send it to you. Please help get the word out to any parents in the area so they can decide for themselves. Thank you.
I was a former martial arts instructor from a different school and a friend of Jherie before COVID. I saw the weird dynamic that these two had and always thought it was very strange. I pointed it out several times to other adults and to Jherie himself, however they thought I was reading into it too much. Now that I know the full story I’m glad I stopped visiting him and that studio. Jherie gives martial arts instructors everywhere a bad reputation and has disgraced martial arts with his actions and his teachings. I hope the other students are ok and safe from this predator.
Ellie warned families how she best could under the circumstances.
When we visited the Dojo for the 1st time Ellie was very clear that we should use the dojo only to figure out the type of Karate we fit most with and move on to another dojo. At the time, I thought it odd she wasn’t encouraging our child to grow her skills there.
It all made sense when we were warned by former member of the dojo of what had been going on. We immediately removed our child.