Man, who performed sweat ceremonies, charged with sexual assault

Raymond, WI - A 62-year-old Town of Raymond man, who performed Native American sweat ceremonies, was charged with a felony charge of third degree sexual assault.

David Granados was charged by the Racine County district attorney’s office and told by a judge at the preliminary hearing on July 31 not to perform any more sweat ceremonies alone with women.

Granados posted a $500 cash bond and signed a $5,000 signature bond. If Granados is found guilty of the charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison and could be fined up to $25,000.

According to the criminal complaint, Granados, 4332 W. 6 ½ Mile Road, ran the Earth Lodge Foundation where he performed Native American healing ceremonies called sweat ceremonies. In October, a woman who was at one of the ceremonies told investigators with the Racine County Sheriff’s Department that she was sexually assaulted by Granados.

Granados is also known as “8 Eagles.”

The woman said she met Granados through an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Granados performs Native American workshops and said he was a Native American medicine man. The woman said she had been to sweat ceremonies three times, with the last one being held a year ago.

Granados allegedly told the woman’s husband that “all he needed to do to heal him self was to go smoke a Native American pipe containing tobacco” and the man did. Once he was done doing that he was to go into the house to start dinner for the three of them leaving Granados and the woman alone.

The woman told investigators that Granados scolded her for wearing a bra and told her to take it off, which she did. Granados allegedly began whispering to himself and put bear grease on her abdominal area. He then lifted up her shirt, reached around from behind and grabbed her breasts. He then tried to kiss the woman.

The woman told investigators she “yanked away from him and that he told her that the healing session was done and that the next month, she could do a healing on him.”

The woman also said she knows another woman who was touched by Granados.

The husbands of the two women allegedly confronted Granados and asked why he would touch their breasts. Granados said he was “working with her heart” and when one of the women said “her heart was not in her nipples,” Granados allegedly said, “I don’t know why I did what I did. God made me do it.”

One woman asked why he touched her vagina and Granados said he did not know why he did so, but when the told him he hurt her, he apologized and said he was sorry and “it is what it is.”

Granados is expected to have a preliminary hearing on Aug. 6 in Racine County felony court in front of Judge Alice Rudebusch.

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