On July 17, 2025, the Florida Department of Health issued an Emergency Order suspending the license of massage therapist Isagani Payumo following his arrest in March 2025 for sexual battery in Seminole County, Florida. Payumo, 60, had been a licensed massage therapist in Florida since 2015. According to Payumo's LinkedIn page, he previously worked at Massage Envy.
According to the Affidavit of Arrest documents, Payumo was arrested on March 13, 2025, after a woman reported to the Orlando Police Department that she was sexually assaulted by her massage therapist at J. Sterling's Wellness Spa located in Winter Park. The victim informed police that she had been a regular at the spa for many years. She arrived at the spa for her scheduled massage on February 11, 2025, where she was greeted by Payumo and taken back to the massage room. The victim disrobed, leaving her underwear on, before lying face down, and was covered with a sheet and blanket. The massage began as usual, with Payumo massaging the woman's upper back and instructing her to take deep breaths. He then began moving his hands down her back, running his hands between her buttocks. He moved on to the legs and, with one leg exposed, Payumo inserted his hand inside the victim's underwear and inserted his finger inside her vagina for about 2 minutes. The woman was in shock as Payumo continued the massage as if nothing had happened. He escorted the victim to the front with his hands on her buttocks.
Still in shock and embarrassed, the woman confided to her husband about the incident at J. Sterling's. He encouraged her to report the assault to the police, which she did three days later. She reaffirmed that Payumo forcibly inserted multiple fingers inside her vagina during her routine massage. She also informed the officers about two other "odd" incidents that led her to suspect Payumo was watching her in the room with a hidden camera.
Upon further investigation, the detectives uncovered that Payumo had been the subject of prior complaints regarding sexual assault both in Seminole and Orange Counties. One complaint was from 2021, stating Payumo touched her vagina and groin area that left her disgusted and in tears, and another complaint was from 2022, stating Payumo massaged her thigh and kept moving towards her groin and touched her "crotch" area. The woman instructed Payumo to leave the room instantly, to which he apologized, and the incident was reported to the spa manager.
When questioned, Payumo became evasive and did not deny the allegations definitively. The investigators concluded that there were enough similarities between the incidents to suggest a clear and calculated pattern of sexual misconduct by Payumo. The repetition of unwanted, touching manipulation of victims, positioning, deviations from proper procedure, and victims' emotional distress provides compelling evidence of predatory behavior that led to Payumo's arrest. Payumo faces charges of a second-degree felony of sexual assault by an 18-year-old victim or older.
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. Payumo willfully abused his position as a massage therapist to sexually violate clients.
Horowitz Law has filed numerous sexual assault lawsuits against massage therapists for clients who were inappropriately touched at Massage Envy and various 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.