The Florida Department of Health Board of Massage Therapy has filed an Administrative Complaint against massage therapist Louis Gay of Tampa accusing him of sexual misconduct with a female client. According to the Complaint, the incident occurred on January 25, 2018 when Louis Gay was employed at Essentials Massage and Facial Spa located at 11782 North Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. The Complaint alleges that Louis Gay re-positioned his client’s draping to expose her breast and he then rubbed the center of her breasts with his hands. It further states that he rubbed her nipples and cupped her breasts with his hands.
Florida law prohibits all sexual activity by any person employed in a massage establishment and says that no licensed massage therapist shall use the therapist-client relationship to engage in sexual activity. The Board of Massage Therapy is seeking one or more of the following penalties on Louis Gay’s massage therapy license: permanent revocation or suspension of Respondent’s license, restriction of practice, imposition of an administrative fine, issuance of a reprimand, placement of Respondent on probation, corrective action, refund of fees billed or collected, remedial education and/or any other relief that the Board deems appropriate. Louis Gay has been licensed as a massage therapist in Florida since June 2017. Gay has also performed massage therapy services at The Massage Spa in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Often times due to shock and fear of the sexual contact, a massage client will go into an involuntary “freeze response” to cope with the trauma of the assault. This is a completely normal physiological response because the sexual contact is unexpected and the brain was previously attempting to go into a state of relaxation. Due to the “freeze response”, a client sexually assaulted in the massage setting often fails to immediately scream for help or otherwise report an assault. Sometimes victims of sexual assault experience guilt or shame if they did not immediately stop the sexual contact or report it right away. The “freeze response” is a completely normal trauma response and the victims should not feel shame or guilt. It is never too late to report a massage therapist for sexual assault.
If you have a been a victim of sexual assault in a spa or during a massage at Massage Envy, Massage Luxe, Hand & Stone, Essential Massage or any other location offering a massage, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at (954) 641-2100 or send an email to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected]