Woman Files $25M Lawsuit Against Massage Envy, Masseur For Sex Assault

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A woman filed a $25 million lawsuit against Massage Envy and the masseur she says sexually assaulted her during a massage at the Tenleytown parlor.

Habtamu Gebreselassie, 24, of Silver Spring is accused of four acts of sexual misconduct at the Tenleytown spa, a Massage Envy in Bowie, Md. and at an unaffiliated massage parlor on the 2000 block of P Street NW in D.C.

The married woman in her 20s said Gebreselassie assaulted her in the final 15 minutes of her 90-minute massage on Sept. 17. at the Tenleytown business at 4926 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

Personal injury attorney Kim Brooks Rodney said Massage Envy received prior complaints of a similar nature about Gebreselassie before the woman was a patron at the spa.

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Gebreselassie allegedly moved the sheet that was covering the victim during the massage and made inappropriate oral sexual contact with her. The woman was taken to the hospital, where she was given tests to determine if she contracted any sexually transmitted infections. She will not know whether she contracted any infections "for quite some time," a statement said.

Massage Envy sent the following statement to The Washington Post:

“Massage Envy requires franchisees to complete extensive background screenings and reference checks and strictly enforce our Code of Conduct and Zero Tolerance Policy to ensure guests have a safe and professional experience when they visit a franchised location,” the statement said.

Gebreslassie is no longer employed by the company. According to court documents, he denied the accusations.

The victim filed the lawsuit Sept. 26 to "obtain compensation for the damages she has suffered and will continue to suffer, and, as importantly, to make sure that no other patron of a Massage Envy establishment ever experiences a sexual assault," the statement said.

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