Massage therapist Hector Posadas was arrested in Pinellas County on February 7, 2025 on sexual battery charges after it was reported to police that he sexually assaulted a male client. Posadas was initially held in a Pinellas County jail on a $100,000 bond. Posadas is a resident of Largo, Florida. According to his LinkedIn profile, Posadas is also an esthetician. On October 9, 2025, the Florida Board of Massage Therapy accepted Posadas' surrender of his massage therapy license as part of disciplinary proceedings on his license. Posadas had been licensed as a massage therapist in Florida since August 2016. Botanica Day Spa denies involvement in this matter and reports that Posadas was terminated immediately upon discovery of the situation.
According to media reports, Posadas was assigned to perform a massage and skin care treatments on a male client on December 29, 2024, at Botanica Day Spa, located at 700 Court St. in Clearwater, Florida. The alleged victim reported that towards the end of his massage, while lying face-up, Posadas touched his penis, which the victim found odd but assumed it was an inadvertent mistake. The victim then claims Posadas reached under the victim’s underwear, grabbed the man’s penis and placed it into his mouth. The victim then jumped up and left the spa to report the assault to the Pinellas County police department.
According to his arrest report from the clerk of the court, a sexual assault forensic exam (SAFE) later revealed that the victim had “foreign DNA on his penis, scrotum, and genital area, as well as the inside of his underwear.” However, the arrest affidavit does not identify whose DNA samples it was. During initial police questioning, Posadas “denied that the incident took place.” Posadas subsequently retained legal counsel and declined to speak further with detectives.
In the criminal case, Posadas was ordered to refrain from internet use, except while under the care of his attorney. Posadas was also ordered not to hold employment with public contact other than restaurant employment, unless specifically authorized by the court.
This is just one of the many disturbing trends of alleged sexual misconduct by massage therapists statewide. Under Florida law, massage therapists occupy positions of trust, and all sexual activity between the massage therapist and clients is strictly prohibited. Posadas reportedly violated the massage therapist-patient relationship. A massage therapist may not use his relationship with a client to induce or attempt to induce the patient to engage or to engage or attempt to engage the patient 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 sexually assaulted during massages at massage establishments, salons, 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 sexual abuse lawyer Adam Horowitz at adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com for a free consultation.