On October 13, 2022, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) filed an Emergency Order restricting the massage therapy license of Juan Barrios in response to a report of sexual misconduct during a massage he performed while working at Massage Envy in Palmetto Bay. The Order prohibits Barrios from practicing massage therapy on female clients in Florida. Barrios has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since January 2012.
According to the Department of Health's Emergency Order, on July 31, 2022, Juan Barrios performed a 1-hour massage on a 56-year-old female client at Massage Envy. While the client was lying face down during the massage, Barrios grabbed the client's buttocks and spread them apart. Barrios then removed the draping from the client's entire left side of her body. Barrios massaged the client's hamstrings with one hand on her buttocks. Barrios then slid his other hand between her legs and rubbed the client's outer and inner labia. Barrios repeated this action a few times, which shocked the client. She shouted, "Oh," and Barrios stopped and quickly placed the draping back on her. The client left and reported the incident to the authorities.
Juan Barrios Allegedly Violated the Massage Therapist-Patient Relationship
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 sexually. Clients of massage therapists are in an isolated setting, leaving them vulnerable and subject to abuse by their massage therapists.
Due to the potential for inherent abuse, under those circumstances, massage therapists must possess good judgment and moral character to practice massage therapy safely. Mr. Juan Barrios willfully abused his position as a massage therapist to sexually violate a woman who trusted him to act professionally and within the boundaries of generally accepted massage therapy and treatment. Mr. Barrios' violation of the massage therapist-patient relationship indicates that he lacks the good moral character and judgment necessary to safely practice massage therapy.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists for clients who were inappropriately touched at Massage Envy and 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 954-641-2100 or email sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.