On October 19, 2023, Orlando massage therapist Sergio Da Silva Borges had his license to practice as a massage therapist in Florida revoked following a disciplinary action brought by the Florida Department of Health Board of Massage Therapy. Based upon the Findings of Fact, the Board concludes the respondent has violated Florida Statutes and, therefore, revoked his license and ordered Borges to pay a fine of $10,000.00 plus investigative costs of $2581.11 within 90 days. Borges had been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since September 2020.
A Final Order of discipline was entered following Borges’ arrest in May of 2022 for sexual battery charges after a female patient made a complaint after receiving multiple massages by Borges. According to media reports, a criminal complaint was filed at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office by a woman claiming Sergio Borges sexually assaulted her during two massage appointments. Both incidents occurred at Path Medical, located on South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, where she was getting massage therapy after a previous slip and fall accident.
According to the initial administrative complaint, in April 2022, Sergio Da Silva Borges treated a female patient after an injury. The report stated he rubbed up against the woman inappropriately during her first appointment while her daughter was in the room. She didn’t report Borges then, but the victim video-recorded her next massage therapy appointment with Borges. The video revealed that Borges once again touched her inappropriately and tried to force himself on the victim. The complaint states that Borges placed his penis in the client’s hand, tried to place his erect penis in her mouth, and digitally penetrated the patient. The police investigators identified Borges in the footage, and he admitted the accusations to be true.
When clients schedule a massage, it is to decompress from the stresses of life or for rehabilitation. 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. Borges violated the therapist-patient relationship. A massage therapist may not use his relationship with a client to induce the client to engage in sexual activity outside the scope of practice or the scope of generally accepted examination or treatment of the patient.
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, 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.