The Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued an Emergency Order on Sept 1, 2021 restricting the massage therapy license of Agustin Gutierrez in response to a report of sexual misconduct during a massage he performed while working at a Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa location in Orlando. The Order prohibits Gutierrez from practicing massage therapy on female clients in the State of Florida. Gutierrez has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since October 2017.
According to the Department of Health’s Emergency Order, on May 26, 2021, Agustin Gutierrez was assigned to perform a 60-minute massage to a 24-year old female client. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) issued an Emergency Order on Sept 1, 2021 restricting the massage therapy license of Agustin Gutierrez in response to a report of sexual misconduct during a massage he performed while working at a Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa location in Orlando. During the massage, Gutierrez allegedly informed the client that he provides in-home massages with “happy endings.” He then undraped part of the client’s sheet, exposing her right leg. The client claims Gutierrez then massaged her buttocks underneath the sheet, grabbed her vagina, and then grazed her perineum while applying pressure. He then asked client if she liked what he was doing. The patient immediately felt uncomfortable and ended the massage early.
When clients schedule a massage, it is to decompress from the stresses of life. They trust that the massage therapists employed at the spa are carefully vetted and safe to engage with the public. It is unacceptable, immoral, and unlawful for any employee to touch a client in a sexual manner. Clients of massage therapists are placed in isolated, vulnerable settings where they can be subject to abuse by their massage therapists. Due to the potential for abuse that is inherent under those circumstances, massage therapists must possess good judgment and good moral character in order to safely practice massage therapy.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at various massage salons and spas. 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 for massage clients at [email protected] for a free consultation.