The Florida Department of Health (DOH) Surgeon General issued an Emergency Order restricting Brian Magner’s license to work as a massage therapist in the State of Florida. The Emergency Order was entered on May 26, 2023 after the DOH received a complaint that Magner sexually assaulted a 54-year-old female client. The Surgeon General declared that Magner would cause a risk of further harm to female patients if his license were not restricted.
The sexual assault is reported to have occurred on February 1, 2023 at Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Kissimmee, Florida. Brian Magner has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since 2006. He is now prohibited from massaging female clients as a result of this Emergency Order. According to his LinkedIn profile, Magner has previously worked as a massage therapist at Walt Disney World. Mr. Magner has been employed at Thrive Holistic Health Center according to his online professional profile and also been self-employed by Magner Massage & Wellness.
The Florida Department of Health Emergency report states the following: On February 1, 2023, Mr. Magner was hired to perform a massage on his female patient. While massaging this patient’s back, Mr. Magner allegedly leaned in toward his client and his penis grazed the side of her hand. Moments later, Mr. Magner leaned in a second time causing his penis to come into contact with the palm of his patient’s hand. After this occurred, the patient pulled her hand toward her body and moved away from Mr. Magner. Later in the massage, Mr. Magner reportedly leaned in toward the patient’s body on the opposite side of her body and his penis again came into contact with the patient’s hand. Again the patient retracted. Toward the second-half of the massage, when the patient was asked to turn over, the Order says Mr. Magner did not hold the drape in position while his client turned over, which resulted in the drape falling downward exposing his client’s breasts. Mr. Magner is said to have failed to promptly adjust the drape to cover his patient’s breasts. Instead, he reportedly left them exposed until the patient was settled on her back and she was able to pull the drape back up. After massaging his patient’s neck and shoulder area, the Emergency Order says Mr. Magner placed his hands on the client’s breasts underneath the drape. Mr. Magner then grabbed, rubbed and or massaged his client’s breasts according to the Order. He allegedly pushed her breasts upward and then toward the center of her chest pushing them together. The client reported her alleged sexual assault by Mr. Magner to the spa establishment before she left the store.
When patients book a massage, it is to decompress and relax. The massage therapist-patient relationship is founded on mutual trust. This is codified into law in the Florida Massage Therapist Practice Act. Clients trust that the massage therapists employed at a spa are carefully vetted and safe. Any violation of that trust requires swift action, as it is both unacceptable and unlawful for a massage therapist to touch a client in a sexual manner. A massage therapist who initiates sexual contact with a client lacks the moral judgment and character to safely perform massage therapy on female patients.
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 e-mail Adam Horowitz at [email protected] for a free consultation.