The Arizona Board of Massage Therapy just held its regular public meeting and had a full agenda that took it well into the afternoon. Among the items on the agenda were approval of 231 massage therapy applications, a formal hearing on a male massage therapist accused of touching two women inappropriately, a formal hearing on female massage therapist accused of "slapping a police officer on the buttocks" during his massage and "brushing against his testicles", and a young female massage therapist accused of "coming onto" a male client.
The male massage therapist accused of touching two clients inappropriately came with documentation in hand to make his case. The Assistant Attorney General (AAG) who was present called the two witnesses via teleconference because they could not make the time to appear in person. After many technical issues the conference began and the AAG began eliciting the story from the women. The massage therapist did not have legal representation and had to defend himself in the face of a legal onslaught. It became clear after a few minutes that the women were friends with each other and were once friends with the massage therapist. It seems the first woman saw the massage therapist 17 times before deciding that he was inappropriate. The second woman only saw him once and accused him of running his hand up her leg, over her stomach, and over her breast and nipples while she was face down.
The AAG had a chiropractor/massage therapist as an "expert witness" who testified that the therapist's alleged actions were totally inappropriate. The therapist pointed out that the women were once friends with him and attended many outside social events. He kept detailed SOAP notes that contradicted many of the claims. The complaints were filed after he left his practice and had a falling out with the owner.
The female massage therapist accused of "coming onto" a male client was an anomaly for sure. The Board's investigator said that he believed the client was inappropriate and would have dropped the complaint but the client insisted on the hearing. The young woman was well prepared and immediately showed the lunacy of the claim by the large and possibly dimwitted complainant. He claimed she leaned over him provocatively and touched his hand in a sensual way. He filed the complaint after she told her supervisor at the spa where she worked that she was uncomfortable with the client after his visit. The spa subsequently decided to not allow the client back in. This enraged the complainant.
The case of the testicular massage was the most salacious. A Scottsdale detective in the course of an undercover investigation entered the massage facility to get a massage. The therapist, who was the only person at the facility, unlocked the door and brought the detective in. She spoke very little English but gestured to him to get on the massage table. She left the room and the detective got on the massage table and under a towel in the face down position. Upon returning to the room the therapist removed the towel and slapped the detective on the buttocks. She then began an unusual massage which include a lot of glute massage and brushing of the testicles.
When she had the detective turn supine (face up) a conversation began which included words and gestures in which the therapist offered to provide a "hand job" to the detective for $100 while she was topless. To summarize, the detective left the premises and his back up team raided the facility arresting the massage therapist. Her lawyer claimed she did not understand and that the gesture of moving her half open hand up and down did not mean "hand job". He also proposed that perhaps the testicle massage was therapeutic.
So what happened with all of these? The male therapist accused of inappropriate touching was ordered to take an ethics course but was allowed to keep his license. It seemed that the Board did not believe the complainants but thought that perhaps the therapist would benefit from an ethics course. Good call!
The young woman accused of "coming onto" a male client was completely exonerated. The strange complainant protested and the Board chairman had to tell him to leave. It is a shame that any crack pot can file a complaint against a massage therapist and force him or her to worry about it for months and take off from work to defend herself. However, the Board made a great call here.
The non English speaking massage therapist lost her massage license. The Board chairman stated that everyone over 12 years old worldwide knows the universal symbol for "hand job" and the Board was not convinced (to say the least) that the testicle massage was therapeutic. Another great call for the Arizona Board of Massage Therapy and a great job by officers of the Scottsdale Police Department.
The next board meeting is scheduled for July 25, 2011. Anyone can attend the meeting which is held at 1400 West Washington St., B-1, Phoenix, AZ 85007.
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