Tinley Park Lawsuit Among Massage Envy Sexual Misconduct Claims

TINLEY PARK, IL — A national massage chain with 40 Illinois locations — including one in Tinley Park — is facing scrutiny after a Buzzfeed report detailing sexual assault allegations against Massage Envy therapists from more than 180 women across the country. The Illinois accusations have come from several women and at least one man in recent years, which have led to arrests in some cases. Last year, a customer at the Tinley Park spa in the Brookside Marketplace shopping center sued the chain, alleging that a Massage Envy therapist inappropriately touched her during a session.

While the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation has revoked the licenses of several accused massage therapists, the Illinois Massage Envy locations — which also include spas in Naperville, Elmhurst and Chicago — continue to operate despite the allegations and subsequent lawsuits, and new locations have opened. In at least one instance, a massage therapist at the Naperville Massage Envy pleaded guilty to battery after a woman accused him of groping her breasts during a session at that location.

The incident involving the Tinley Park location, 7270 W. 191st St., happened in August of 2016. A customer at the spa contacted police after she alleged that a therapist touched her inappropriately during her second visit to the location. The therapist denied the incident, but he was suspended while the the business investigated the matter and was later fired, ABC 7 Chicago reported at the time.

RELATED: Therapist At Tinley Massage Spa Touched Client Inappropriately

"Massage Envy Franchising, LLC has a strict Zero Tolerance Policy that addresses various types of inappropriate conduct, including making clear that such conduct is impermissible and will not be tolerated," a the chain said in a statement responding to the incident. "We require franchisees to conduct a thorough investigation of any allegation and, should a therapist employed by a franchisee violate our Zero Tolerance Policy, the franchisee is required to terminate the therapist."

In December of 2016, the customer filed a civil lawsuit against the Tinley location. She told ABC 7 in an off-camera interview at that time of the filing that she has been in therapy since the incident. The $50,000 personal injury lawsuit was moved to Will County in January 2017 after originally being filed in Cook County. Massage Envy employees are scheduled to be deposed in the case on Jan. 9, according to court records, and a hearing in the case is set for Jan. 16.

Massage spas in the state are governed by the Illinois Massage Licensing Act, which requires all massage therapists to be at least 18 years old and licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. To obtain a license, therapists must complete at least 500 hours of a massage therapy program and pass a competency exam. They must also submit their fingerprints to the Illinois State Police and pay for a criminal background check before being issued a license.

Using nearby Orland Park as a model, Tinley Park amended its municipal code concerning massage spas in December of 2015 so that the village could have a tighter rein on those businesses, Deputy Village Clerk Laura Goodette told Patch on Monday. The village requires massage spas to have a business license to operate, and owners must have criminal background checks, according to the municipal code.

Under the municipal code, the police department monitors massage establishments, and the businesses must alert the department when new therapists are hired, Godette said. The code also outlines actions prohibited by therapists, such as massaging or fondling a customer's "sexual or genital area." Code violations can result in a spa's license being suspended or revoked following a hearing.

When adopting the changes in 2015, village officials did encounter some objections from massage businesses, Godette said. But that minor resistance stemmed from the added and more detailed paperwork and requirements these establishments now needed to obtain and keep their licenses, she added.

"It was sort of painful for [massage businesses]. … Was there push back? I wouldn't call it push back," Godette said concerning the reactions of spas to the amended municipal code. "Grumbling, yes. Push back, no."

Godette says the village hasn't had issues with massage spas since code change in 2015. Last year, the village held a hearing after Police Chief Steve Neubauer requested that the licenses of four massage businesses be revoked for employing unlicensed therapists — but the list did not include Massage Envy.

Sexual misconduct accusations also have been leveled at other northern Illinois Massage Envy spas. A Plainfield woman accused a therapist at the Naperville location, 2775 Showplace Drive, of "cupping her breasts" and rubbing her nipples during a massage in May 2013.

In July 2015, she filed a $1 million lawsuit against Massage Envy and the therapist, Michael Barnabee of Sugar Grove. The suit was settled in April 2017, and Barnabee — who reportedly told the woman, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be doing that" — pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to court supervision and community service. (The City of Naperville does not require a local license for massage businesses.)

In September 2014, a massage therapist at an Elmhurst Massage Envy location, 191 S. Route 83, was arrested for battery after police said he touched a client's crotch. Two months later, the client filed a lawsuit against the massage therapist, Thaddeus Scott-Chew of Chicago, and the Elmhurst location, saying Chew touched her privates without her consent and claiming the incident caused her emotional distress. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation refused to renew Scott-Chew's license, which expired shortly after the incident. Scott-Chew was ultimately found not guilty by a jury in 2015, according to court records, and a lawsuit filed against the Elmhurst Massage Envy location was dismissed.

RELATED: Sexual Misconduct Widespread At Massage Chain: Buzzfeed

There have also been accusations at Chicago Massage Envy locations. A woman who received a gift certificate for a massage filed a lawsuit after a massage therapist at the Streeterville location allegedly pressed "his aroused genitalia into (her) head." The woman later learned the therapist has previous drug convictions. A male customer at the same Massage Envy claimed a different massage therapist pulled down his boxers and touched his genitals, according to a 2014 CBS Chicago report.

Massage Envy has more than 1,000 locations around the country, but according to the Buzzfeed report, in places where it is not required by law, the chain "does not compel its franchisees to notify law enforcement," even in cases of rape. In an email to BuzzFeed, a lawyer for Massage Envy said: "We hold franchise owners accountable to our policies and, when we say nothing is more important to us than treating clients with respect and giving them a safe, professional experience, we mean it."

The following are the 40 Illinois locations of Massage Envy spas, according to the company's website:

• Algonquin
• Bloomingdale
• Chicago
• Darien
• Elmhurst
• Frankfort
• Geneva
• Glen Carbon
• Glen Ellyn
• Grayslake
• Hoffman Estates
• Johnsburg
• La Grange
• Lake Zurich
• Mount Prospect
• Naperville
• Niles
• Normal
• North Aurora
• Northbrook
• O'Fallon
• Oak Lawn
• Orland Park
• Oswego
• Palatine
• Park Ridge
• Peoria
• Plainfield
• River Forest
• Rockford
• Savoy
• Schaumburg
• Shorewood
• South Elgin
• Springfield
• Tinley Park
• Vernon Hills
• Wheaton
• Wheeling
• Wilmette

WATCH: Sexual Misconduct Widespread At Massage Chain

By SHANNON ANTINORI | Patch National Staff

Patch Editor Joe Vince contributed to this report.

Photo via Massage Envy | Patch archive