On October 21, 2024, massage therapist Picard Johnson of Maryland was arrested by the Alexandria Police Department following allegations of sexual assault by two clients while working at an Alexandria Massage Envy located at 4539 Duke Street in the Foxchase Shoppes. Johnson, 31, has been charged with two counts of Object Sexual Penetration. Picard was released on his own recognizance and scheduled for a preliminary hearing in late November. Investigators are actively investigating to identify anyone who visited the Foxchase Shoppes Massage Envy between August 1 and Sept. 26, 2024. If convicted, Johnson could receive a minimum of five years in prison. Johnson has been a licensed massage therapist in Virginia since August 2024, just two months ago.
According to media reports, Picard Johnson was accused of sexually assaulting two clients while performing massages at the Alexandria Massage Envy location between September 25-26, 2024. No further details of the abuse have been revealed, but this isn't the first sexual abuse allegation made by Massage Envy employees.
Attorney Adam Horowitz said in a statement, "This is a problem that Massage Envy has been dealing with for years." Horowitz said his firm has represented about 50 people around the country in civil suits against different Massage Envy franchises for sexual assault. Picard denies the allegations.
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 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 to practice massage therapy safely.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists on behalf of clients who were inappropriately touched at Massage Envy franchises 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 send an e-mail to sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz for massage clients at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.