Investigating Sexual Assault Complaints in Massage Businesses and Spas

Today’s topic is investigating sexual assault complaints in massage businesses and spas. When you take on a sexual assault case involving a massage therapist, especially if you have not had this type of case before, it is crucial to discover who conducted the initial investigation. Was it the spa itself, or did they hire an external investigator? Understanding the difference between those two scenarios will help you build your case.

 

 

Spas Should Never Investigate Misconduct Complaints Themselves

 

For spas or wellness businesses that receive a complaint of inappropriate sexual conduct, a layperson might think it is reasonable for the company to investigate the incident on its own. Most industries internally handle complaints from clients. However, for these types of complaints, where a client accuses a therapist of sexual assault or inappropriate touch, internal investigations are a dangerous mistake. Spas should never investigate misconduct complaints themselves, and lawyers should understand why:

 

1. Inherent Conflicts of Interest

 

Owners and managers, who often try to conduct an internal investigation, usually have an unconscious bias toward their employees, as well as a fiduciary interest. The manager most likely personally interviewed and hired the accused therapist. They might like and trust this individual, and I have seen cases where the management cannot believe or accept that the therapist would do such a thing. Impartial fact-finding is impossible.

 

In addition, this individual might be a top revenue generator or at least contribute significantly to the spa’s profit. Most management is not so readily inclined to cut a stream of income.

 

2. Lack of Specialized Training

 

Investigating sexual assault in a massage context requires knowledge of the unique predatory patterns that unethical massage therapists employ, as well as skillful interviewing techniques and years of experience.

 

One company hired me to train former detectives and FBI investigators in these predatory patterns. I taught them the subtle ways that unethical massage therapists test their clients before a full-out assault.

 

 

Firing an Accused Therapist Without an Investigation

 

Sometimes, spas will skip an investigation and move on straight to firing the accused therapist. This approach damages the profession, prevents the spa from improving hiring practices, and fails victims.

 

1. Damage to the profession

 

If a thorough investigation finds credible evidence against the accused therapist, management has a responsibility to report them to the local or state massage regulatory board, where they will lose their license at a minimum. A culpable therapist should no longer be in the massage profession.

 

After being fired without an investigation, a predatory therapist will simply find employment at another spa and assault someone else. I have seen many cases where this has happened. Allowing predators to stay employed as massage therapists erodes public trust in a respectable profession.

 

2. No hiring improvements

 

Independent investigations often reveal deficiencies in the hiring and vetting process that need to be corrected. For example, many spas with sexual assault cases did not rigorously check professional references or previous employers. If they had, they would have discovered that a predatory therapist they had hired was actually fired from another spa for sexual misconduct.

 

Without such an investigation, spas cannot realize this hole in their screening process and will continue to hire bad actors.

 

3. Failing victims

 

An external investigator will look more thoroughly at previous complaints of the accused therapist’s clients, but without an investigation, these more in-depth follow-ups do not happen. I worked on one case where a client complained about being uncomfortable during the massage. No one ever asked her about it. Later, it turned out that this client had been molested, and if someone had called, she would have told them about her experience. This is common – most sexual assault victims feel traumatized and humiliated and will not come forward without encouragement.

 

In another case I was involved in, when a manager interviewed the accused therapist, he denied everything, but when police detectives interrogated him, he broke down and admitted to assaulting multiple women at his current workplace.

 

 

The Takeaway

 

There are qualified, unbiased professional investigators who specialize in sexual assault cases and are trained in the unique predatory behaviors of unethical massage therapists. They avoid the pitfalls of an internal investigation and often reveal holes in the hiring process that allowed a predator to be hired.

 

I have seen a growing trend for spa companies to hire professional investigators when there is a complaint of sexual misconduct. Hopefully, more will follow suit.

 

 

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If you’re a lawyer who is currently involved in a sexual assault case and needs an expert witness with a massage or spa background, schedule a conversation with Dr. Benjamin.

Call for more information →

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Ben E. Benjamin holds a Ph.D. in Sports Medicine and has been an expert witness in cases of sexual assault in a massage/spa setting since 2004, advising lawyers, testifying in depositions and trials, and writing reports. His expertise extends beyond massage therapy and ethical behavior. He also advises spas, both large and small, on the creation of comprehensive sexual assault prevention strategies that ensure safe and ethical practices in the industry.