On September 19, 2024, massage therapist Cristian Carballo Garcia of Boca Raton got his license to practice massage therapy suspended by the Florida Department of Health. An Order of Emergency Suspension was issued after a complaint was filed against Carballo Garcia of sexual assault on a client while working at Fusion Chiropractic Spa in Boca Raton, FL. Carballo Garcia has been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since 2020. The emergency suspension prohibits Carballo Garcia from practicing massage therapy in Florida, effective immediately.
According to the Emergency Order, on August 1, 2024, Cristian Carballo Garcia performed a massage on a female client while working at Fusion Chiropractic Spa. The client disrobed to her undergarments and laid face down on the table, covered with a sheet. The client claims that Carballo Garcia told her that she needed a massage “all over.” After the client flipped on her back, Carballo Garcia reached his hand under the sheet to massage the client’s chest and breasts. He then moved his hands to her thigh and inward towards her vagina.
Carballo Garcia then slid his hand under her underwear and rubbed the client’s clitoris. He then removed the sheet over her chest and kissed her breasts. He tried to lean in to kiss her face, but she covered her face and said no. The client claims that after the massage, Carballo Garcia told her to keep what happened then a secret. According to Carballo Garcia’s Facebook page, he also worked at Massage Envy.
Clients of massage therapists are placed in isolated, vulnerable settings where they can be subject to abuse by their massage therapists. Due to the potential for abuse that is inherent under these circumstances, massage therapists must possess good judgment and good moral character in order to practice massage therapy safely. Carballo Garcia willfully abused his position as a massage therapist to sexually violate a patient. Carballo Garcia abused his power and lacked good moral judgment to practice massage 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, please contact our law firm at 888-283-9922 or email sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz for a free consultation.