On March 28, 2023, Miami massage therapist Piter Mayorga was arrested and charged with felony sexual battery on a female client. According to the charging documents, the assault took place during a massage therapy appointment at My Massage Haven in Miami on September 12, 2022. The assault was promptly reported to law enforcement by the 54-year old female victim. Law enforcement was able to arrest Mr. Mayorga on account of DNA evidence.
Prior to the arrest, on October 21, 2022, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) filed an Emergency Order restricting the massage therapy license of Piter Mayorga. This restriction was in response to this same report of sexual misconduct that led to the criminal charge. The Order prohibits Mayorga from practicing massage therapy on female clients in Florida. Mayorga has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since July 2004. Piter Mayorga, who is also known as “Peter Mayorga”, founded My Massage Haven in 2002 and now has five locations in Brickell, Aventura, Pinecrest, Kendall, and North Miami Beach.
According to the Department of Health’s Emergency Order, Piter Mayorga was working at his spa, My Massage Haven, located at 13817 South Dixie Highway in Miami, Florida. On the date of incident, Mr. Mayora performed a 60-minute massage on his client. During the massage, Mayorga allegedly began to massage the client’s back, and Mayorga’s finger penetrated her buttocks crevice. The client flinched and repositioned herself, and Mr. Mayorga continued the massage. Mayorga then ran his fingers down the client’s back and into the crevice of her buttocks, rubbing against her anus and down to her vagina. The client froze. She also noticed at that time she was no longer covered by the sheet.
Piter Mayorga 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. According to Florida’s Surgeon General, Mayorga 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. Mayorga’s alleged violation of the massage therapist-patient relationship indicates that he lacks the good moral character and judgment necessary to practice massage therapy on female clients safely.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists for 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, contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or email sexual abuse lawyer [email protected] for a free consultation today.