On October 4, 2022, Antoni Ramos, a 21-year-old massage therapist at Hand & Stone Massage and Facial in Winter Park, Florida, was arrested after police received a sexual assault complaint from a female client. The Winter Park Police Department began an investigation on September 10, 2022, which revealed Antoni Ramos had been accused of sexual misconduct with female clients two previous times. Ramos is now facing criminal charges in Orange County, Florida, for felony sexual battery on a person 18 years or older, as well as misdemeanor charges of violating the Massage Practice Act (480.047, Florida Statutes) and simple battery. Antoni Alexander Ramos has only been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since March 2021. He relinquished his massage therapy license on October 14, 2022. Ramos is a graduate of Oviedo High School.
According to the Affidavit in support of the Arrest Warrant, a female client went to Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Winter Park during the afternoon of September 9, 2022, for a two-hour full body massage by Antoni Ramos. Approximately one hour into the massage, the client, who has sleep apnea, reportedly fell asleep. She woke up to Antoni Ramos sexually assaulting her by placing multiple fingers inside her vagina and fondling her breasts without consent. The arrest affidavit states that the client told Ramos she wanted to immediately end the massage after he was aggressively grabbing her breasts. Ramos reportedly apologized multiple times for his actions. The alleged victim reported the assault to Winter Park Police the following day. A forensic exam revealed that the alleged victim had an abrasion on her genitals. In addition, law enforcement arranged for a recorded control call between the victim and Antoni Ramos in which Ramos admitted he was wrong and made various confessions about his sexual contact with the client. The decision to charge Mr. Ramos was based on the sworn statement from the victim, the results of the sexual assault exam, and the recorded control call between the victim and Mr. Ramos, Law enforcement investigation revealed that Ramos had been accused of sexual misconduct on two other occasions. This is the first time Ramos has been criminally charged. He has been appointed a public defender.
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 are undressed and 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. Mr. Antoni Ramos 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.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at Hand & Stone 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 888-283-9922 or send an email to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com