Sexual Misconduct Widespread At Massage Chain: BuzzFeed

More than 180 women have accused massage therapists from the popular chain Massage Envy of sexual assault, and the company has repeatedly ignored the allegations, BuzzFeed News reported Sunday night. BuzzFeed cited court records, police reports and other complaints from women who reported being groped and penetrated by massage therapists at Massage Envy locations across the country.

One of the victims, Susan Ingram, called her local Massage Envy an hour after therapist James Deiter allegedly groped her during a session in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and pleaded with the staff to bar him from giving massages. The manager at the store told Ingram that Deiter was in a session with another client and could not be disturbed. Deiter would later plead guilty to sexully molesting nine women while working at Massage Envy. In another case, Danielle Dick was assaulted in a Virginia Massage Envy in October 2015. Her therapist placed his hand over mouth as he inserted his fingers into her vagina, according to the report. Dick immediately reported it to the Massage Envy desk clerk, who insisted calling the police would not be necessary because it would be handled internally.

Massage experts told BuzzFeed that even if workers do not know for certain that a client was sexually assaulted, they should encourage victims to file a formal complaint with law enforcement. Experts also told the website franchises should prominently display their reporting policies and hire specially trained consultants if they’re accused of a crime. But according to the report, in places where it is not required by law, Massage Envy “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.”

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Photo Credit: Amy Sussman/Invision for Massage Envy/AP Images