According to a comprehensive report published by Buzzfeed on Sunday morning, the national spa chain Massage Envy has had over 180 women come forward with claims that their massage therapists sexually assaulted them during treatments. The report cited police reports, lawsuits and other complaints to back up the allegations against the franchise.
The piece opens up with the account of a woman who went to the West Chester, Pennsylvania location (one of the nearly 1,200 Massage Envy's located throughout the U.S.) where she says she was assaulted roughly two-and-a-half years ago:
On May 2, 2015, Susan Ingram lay facedown in the dark at her local Massage Envy in West Chester, Pennsylvania, one of the franchise’s nearly 1,200 spas nationwide. It was her seventh session with James Deiter, a massage therapist whom the spa had enthusiastically recommended. By now, Ingram trusted Deiter, and she closed her eyes and relaxed as he worked her muscles. Then, without warning, Deiter ground his erect penis against Ingram’s body. He groped her breasts. He put his fingers in and out of her vagina.
When confronted by police, Deiter confessed to what he had done, and was given a 6.5-13 year sentence for pleading guilty to molesting nine women. During that court case, lawyer's asked both the spa's owner and a manager why nothing was done after Ingram had complained to the business's local management over the phone, to which they said it was company policy to not act unless a customer reported an assault in person:
Lawyers would later ask the spa owner and another clinic manager why they would judge an alleged sexual assault victim on her willingness to return to the scene of the crime.
Massage Envy opted not to comment on Buzzfeed's specific points due to "pending litigation" and because the report involved confidential documents. They did, however, release a general statement, which 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."
You can read the investigation in its entirety by going here.
