On July 28, 2020, the Florida Department of Health issued an Emergency Order Restricting the license of massage therapist, Joshua A. Lowman, following multiple allegations of sexual abuse. Lowman, who was subject to a previous sexual misconduct complaint by the DOH involving an alleged assault at a spa in 2018, was a employed at Hand and Stone Massage located at 6891 Daniels Parkway Suite 115, Fort Myers, FL at the time of latest incidents of sexual assault alleged to have occurred on January 4, 2020.
According to the Emergency Order, on January 4, 2020, Lowman inappropriately touched at least two female clients multiple times throughout their respective massage appointments at Hand & Stone. One woman, who had disrobed, with the exception of her underwear, laid face-down under a sheet, when Lowman rubbed the side of her breasts with his fingers. When she turned over on her back, Lowman’s body brushed up against her hands several times and she felt his erect penis. When she adjusted her position, she saw Lowman’s erect penis through his pants. As Lowman was massaging her legs, he touched her vaginal area several times. When he moved on to her chest, he went under the sheet several times and touched her nipples. When the massage was over, the woman paid and waited for her friends to finish their massages.
On the same day, January 4, 2020, another female client disrobed with the exception of her underwear, laid face-down under a sheet. When Lowman’s body brushed up against her hands several times, she felt his erect penis. As Lowman was massaging her legs, she felt a part of his body on her clitoris. When she turned over and he started massaging her chest, he went under the sheet several times and touched her bare breast. When the massage was over, she paid and asked her friend if she had felt uncomfortable with Lowman. Both women reported what had happened to the police.
According to the Order, the Florida Department of Health deemed Lowman’s lack of moral character and blatant disregard for the law as an immediate and serious danger to the health, safety, or welfare of Florida citizens. The restriction of his license prohibits him from practicing massage therapy on female clients.
The stresses of life can easily overwhelm us. When patients book a massage, it is to decompress and relax. They trust that the massage therapists employed at the spa are carefully vetted and safe. It is for this reason regulating the practice of massage therapy is necessary. Any violation requires swift action, as it is both unacceptable and unlawful for any employee to touch a patient in a sexual manner.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual misconduct claims against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at massage parlors and other spas and resorts. If you have been a victim of sexual assault or sexual battery during a massage, or if you know someone who has, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at [email protected] for a free consultation.